Lil Tay, the young social media sensation, had a distressing and peculiar week but managed to regain control of her account. According to TMZ, a spokesperson for Meta, the company that owns and operates Instagram, along with Facebook and WhatsApp, confirmed that they assisted in recovering Tay’s hacked account.
Earlier in the week, a hacker posted a false statement, now deleted, announcing the supposed deaths of Tay, aged 14, and her brother Jason Tian, aged 21, to her 3.6 million Instagram followers. This post quickly spread across news headlines and prompted condolences from sympathizers in the comments.
On Thursday, August 10, a statement attributed to Tay clarified that she and her brother were, in fact, alive. She expressed her trauma, stating, “It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones, all while trying to sort out this mess,” as reported by TMZ.
Lil Tay’s presence on social media has consistently stirred controversy over the years. The self-proclaimed “youngest flexer” gained widespread attention through a calculated and sometimes tumultuous social media approach. She garnered virality by producing content featuring large sums of money and showcasing luxurious cars, which captured the online audience’s attention and even led to her being featured on Good Morning America.