Nine days after Lil Tay (b. Tay Tian), 14, had reportedly died only to be confirmed alive the next day, her mom, Angela Tian, released an update on the custody battle with the teen’s father on Aug. 18. Her legal team, Lorne MacLean, K.C., and Fraser MacLean, told TMZ the latest on the agreement, as they also shared via Lil Tay’s Instagram account. The 14-year-old’s father, Christopher Hope, has been ordered to pay $275K in “retroactive child support,” which dates back to 2014.
Going forward, Christopher has also been ordered to continue paying for child support and “additional expenses.” Tay’s mom will now be the one solely in charge of all decision-making regarding her daughter. The legal team awarded Angela “sole day-to-day and final decision-making powers and responsibilities in the best interests of Tay Tian.” Tay’s mom is also the “person entitled to sign contracts,” on behalf of the internet sensation.
As far as who Tay must live with, the legal team noted that her primary residence will be with her mother. Angela will also have the “entitlement to relocate outside of Vancouver.” Although the battle appears to be a victory for Angela, it was Christopher who requested the court order back in 2018, per TMZ.
In the original court order, Tay’s dad reportedly wanted her to leave Los Angeles and return to Vancouver, in addition to stopping her internet content. Angela added the circumstances have changed and that the court’s orders “will help Tay advance her career.” The proud mom is pleased with the outcome, as she told the tabloid that the custody battle put her and her daughter “in a constant state of severe depression.” She called Christophers’ “financial motivation” a “disgusting” one.
“I have been financially ruined fighting for my daughter’s rights and freedom which should have never been taken away to begin with,” Angela told TMZ amid the news. “We have won our case in court and my children and I can finally move on from this nightmare. My daughter can pursue and achieve her dreams on her own terms, and we are finally a happy family again, together.”
The latest custody updates on Tay come just one week after her family confirmed that she was alive after her social media account got hacked and reported that she had allegedly died. “I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say,” she told TMZ via her family on Aug. 10. “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.”
She also confirmed that her account was hacked. “My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong,” Tay added. “My legal name is Tay Tian, not ‘Claire Hope.'” Tay rose to fame via social media when she was reportedly nine years old. She now has over 3.9 million Instagram followers.