- Lil Tay — a controversial 11-year-old influencer with 2.5 million Instagram followers — is caught in a struggle between her family members, manager, and music promoter to control her brand.
- She disappeared from the internet in June after a video surfaced of her brother apparently feeding her lines.
- Behind the scenes, her father, manager, and music promoter want her to focus on her music career.
- But they don't see eye-to-eye with her mother and brother, who currently have her in their care.
- The private battle recently appeared to get dirtier when the person controlling her Instagram made lurid allegations — posts that were deleted the same day.
- The Instagram star's future remains uncertain.
A pre-teen Instagram star with more than 2.5 million followers has been all but silent since June.
Eleven-year-old social media phenom Lil Tay garnered attention for her brash on-screen persona and outsized bragadoccio. Tay was simultaneously celebrated and reviled for her swear-laden monologues, controversial collaboratoons, and beefs with other Instagrammers. But she disappeared from the internet earlier this year after a video leaked of her brother feeding her lines for her viral videos. And now, it seems, there's a private battle over the future of her career.
In one corner is her manager Harry Tsang, her father Christopher Hope, and Chris Jones "The Promoter," who works with Lil Tay on her music career. The three want to streamline the operation around her brand and focus on music, branching out to platforms like TikTok.
In the other are Lil Tay's mother and brother, Angela and Jason Tian, who have been instrumental in cultivating the Lil Tay persona. They currently live with Tay in Vancouver.
There is a plan, say those close to her, to relaunch and pivot her career.
But it won't work unless the two sides come to an agreement. And their feud appeared to erupt again Monday, when a series of now-deleted posts on Lil Tay's own Instagram account made lurid accusations about the pre-teen's father.
According to Tsang, Tay's older brother, Jason Tian, a teenager, currently controls her account.
"Jason is saying he's the one who created Lil Tay. If he's the one who created Lil Tay, he can destroy Lil Tay," Tsang told INSIDER. "Lil Tay belongs with him. That's how he thinks."
Lil Tay is a polarizing Instagram presence — but she's incredibly popular
Tay, who first became known in 2015, made waves with her in-your-face, potty-mouthed persona. Billed as a brash 7-year old (Tay, whose real name is Claire Hope, was actually 9 at the time) — she boasted about the mansions, cars, and bundles of cash she said belonged to her.
In her videos, she dubbed herself "the youngest flexer of the century" — an instagram influencer's version of a showoff — and rapidly gained a following for her bravado, aggressive swearing, and feuds and partnerships with other young influencers. She rocketed to fame and shook up the influencer scene, landing her collaborations with major names like Jake Paul.
Tay grew her account to more than 2.5 million followers, but her success had consequences for her family: Her mother reportedly left her real estate firm after it discovered she used her boss's car and the company's rental homes in Tay's videos without permission.
At the time, reporters also raised questions about her care. Who was looking after her? Was she going to school? Why haven't the adults around her been more forthcoming? Her representatives didn't address those questions at the time, but Tsang told INSIDER that she's currently homeschooled by a tutor.
In June, a leaked video put her career in turmoil
In the video, Tay's brother Jason, also known as Jingxian Sun, feeds her several bombastic lines. Tay can be seen struggling to imitate the cadences and phrases of a bonafide "flexer." The video supported the impression that Tay's internet persona was manufactured, and that older people around her manipulated her to profit off her influencer career.
After the video spread, Lil Tay's Instagram page was wiped. Diomi Cordero, Lil Tay's manager at the time, told reporters she would be rebranding her image but didn't offer additional details.
Later in June, Lil Tay's Instagram account published a post memorializing XXXTentacion, a 20-year-old rapper shot and killed in Miami, whom she called a "father figure." Before he was murdered, the rapper was awaiting trial on charges of beating and strangling his pregnant girlfriend. Lil Tay and XXXTentacion were planning a charity event together, according to the post.
In July, Tay's Instagram account posted a cryptic message that said "Help Me," contributing to a narrative that Tay was in danger.
But days later, Lil Tay reemerged, starring in a web docuseries about her life and career on The Zeus Network, a streaming platform for influencers. It was an attempt to rebrand — she apologized for using racist slurs in past videos, and expressed interest in music and dance.
On Monday, a person controlling Lil Tay's account posted lurid allegations about her father
There was little news about Lil Tay for months — until this week.
On Monday, her Instagram account uploaded several making accusatons about Christopher Hope — who previously wasn't substantially involved in the influencer's career. The posts were promoted with the hashtag #FREELILTAY.
Also on Monday, Christopher Hope reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to Instagram asking the platform to remove the posts, a copy of the letter obtained by The Blast shows. The letter called the posts "patently and provably false."
The Instagram posts were deleted later that day.
Hope didn't respond to multiple requests for comment. A representative for the Vancouver-based law firm, Lindsay LLP — where Hope works — declined INSIDER's requests for comment. A representative for Instagram declined to comment. INSIDER was unable to reach either Angela or Jason Tian.
Lil Tay's manager says it was all a lie
Two people close to Lil Tay — her manager Harry Tsang, and music producer and promoter Chris Jones — told INSIDER that the claims made in the Instagram posts are false. They say the posts were a lurid invention meant to wrest away control over the narrative of Lil Tay's career. And they maintain that Lil Tay's brother still controls her Instagram account.
In his own Instagram videos, Tsang, the manager, expressed his feelings that Angela and Jason Tian irresponsibly handled Lil Tay's career and exploited her for profit. He said the two were "unstable."
"They are standing in the way of Lil Tay's career," he said in a video. "Chris has also never asked for money. And all we want for Lil Tay is to be successful and live a happy life."
The Real Truth About Liltay - Part 1 Chris Hope (The Dad) is trying to be a great dad by stopping the insanity within Liltay's Operation. It’s my job as Liltay's manager to share my side of the story. The Fact is Both Jason and Angela are unstable! Check out the other parts on my page! @Liltay #Liltay #freeliltay #xxxtentacion
Tsang told INSIDER that he hopes to form a legal agreement with Lil Tay's parents to create a formal structure over the influencer's career. He wants to put 25% of her gross income into a trust that she can access when she turns 19, in accordance with Canada's Protecting Child Performers Act. And he said he wants Angela and Jason Tian to stop making videos where Lil Tay swears and acts irresponsibly.
"As Lil Tay's manager, I cannot stand by to witness Jason and Angela to ruin Tay's career as well as her well-being," he said in a video. "I also cannot stand by as they destroy Chris Hope's career because they have differences."
When INSIDER reached out to Angela and Jason Tian through their shared email account, the person responding to emails claimed that Tsang was lying about being Tay's manager. "There is currently no manager in place, just a small group of people in her circle trying to help guide her in the right direction," they wrote.
The person offered to set up a phone call to "clarify all these claims being made online," but then stopped replying to INSIDER's emails.
Lil Tay's manager and music producer have a plan to put her career back on track
Despite the messy state of Lil Tay's influencer career, Tsang and Jones see a path for a comeback.
In her docuseries, Tay expressed interest in making rap music and Jones and Tsang want to push her in that direction. Jones said he's already recorded a few tracks with her and is working on a larger body of work.
"She's recording music right now," Jones told INSIDER. "My only thing is to make sure Lil Tay's music career is on a positive note, aiming for longevity. That is my goal."
Tsang wants to put Lil Tay on music-focused social media platforms like TikTok, which has successfully launched the careers of other young online personalities. He says he already has several collaborative projects with other influencers in the work, including people who have a major presence on TikTok.
"I already organized a lot of collaborations between Tay and other influencers," he told INSIDER. "Lil Tay is going to come back really soon... Things will be getting better from here."
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