Lil Tay‘s father spoke out after the 14-year-old YouTuber’s Instagram account claimed that he faked her death. Christopher Hope gave a statement to TMZ on September 26 and denied that he was involved in the false announcement that Tay died in August.
“The person who is responsible for that Instagram post, as well as anyone repeating the completely false and libelous accusation within it, are virtually certain to become defendants in a defamation lawsuit,” Christopher’s statement read. “Everything stated is 100% false, and I trust that this should be obvious to anyone who knows me or the long history of absurd and untrue statements made by the various people who have controlled the Instagram account,” he added.
On Tay’s Instagram Story, there is a picture of Christopher that reads, “My abusive racist misogynistic woman beating father faked my death.” A second post shows somebody’s hands (seemingly Tay’s) on a passport. Tay has not independently spoken out about the latest accusations against her father.
In August, Tay’s 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.”
Amidst the death hoax drama, Lil Tay’s parents carried on their custody battle over the 14-year-old. Her mom, Angela Tian, told TMZ via her legal team that Christopher has been ordered to pay $275K in “retroactive child support,” which dates back to 2014. Christopher also has to keep paying for child support and “additional expenses,” Angela’s representatives said. The legal team decided that Tay’s mom will solely be in charge of all decision-making regarding her daughter.
“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. “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.”