Lil Tay allegedly abused by family, ex-managers question death: reports

Suspicions that late influencer Lil Tay suffered abuse at the hands of her family — including her father — are surfacing in the wake of her death. 

Just as unsettling, however, are new statements from her former manager, questioning whether the teen sensation is actually dead.

In the hours since an Instagram post announced Lil Tay’s demise Wednesday, Henry Tsang, an ex-manager of the 14-year-old social media star — born Claire Eileen Qi Hope, from Vancouver, Canada — released a statement casting slight doubt on her apparent passing.

“I have been in communication with individuals who have an intimate understanding of the family’s situation,” Tsang said to The Daily Beast on Wednesday. “Given the complexities of the current circumstances, I am at a point where I cannot definitively confirm or dismiss the legitimacy of the statement issued by the family.”

Her father, Chris Hope, works at the law firm Lindsay LLP in Vancouver. When called at his office by The Post, the person answering the phone said that he was Hope but would not confirm his daughter’s passing.

“Yeah, you have the right person, but I don’t have any comment right now,” he told The Post in a brief, 2-minute call. I’m not able to give you any comment right now. I’m sorry — I can’t.”

When pressed for someone else who could confirm his daughter’s death, he responded, “Sorry, I can’t really comment or give you any help — I’m just going to let you go,” before hanging up.

The Post’s attempt to reach her mother, Angela, at her alleged work number was unsuccessful.

The Post also contacted the Coroners Service of British Columbia and the Vancouver Police Department for comment.

On Wednesday, an anonymous person who claimed they also were a former manager of Tay additionally questioned why the statement about her death was not signed by anyone from her family.

“One thing I would question is who posted that statement and why isn’t it signed by anyone from the family,” the insider, who reportedly had not been in contact with the influencer for several years, told the Sun.

“Why is it not signed, ‘This is Tay’s mom,’ or ‘This is the dad of Lil Tay,’ or from an official representative? Why is there no attachment?” the purported former manager said.

“To me, that is a very telltale sign. It doesn’t make sense. Even when you have passings, there’s a group of people that come together to make the statement, usually the family, and we don’t see that here,” they continued to the Sun, adding that they “just have so many questions.”

“I send my condolences and I’m shocked by the news. But I’m curious as to who the statement has been released by and [why it hasn’t been signed by anyone.],” they added.

Representatives for Lil Tay did not immediately respond to The Post for comment.

Allegations that the girl was allegedly “physically and mentally” abused by her “absentee” father Hope are also re-circulating.

The accusations were leveled against Hope in an April 2021 GoFundMe profile organized by the teen’s older brother, Jason Tian. 

Per the Instagram post announcing Lil Tay’s death, her brother has died, too; however, it is unclear whether the deceased sibling is Tian. 

“Chris Hope had a dysfunctional home and would bring many types of Asian women home,” claimed Tian on the crowd-sourcing site. “They were strictly sexual partners, they got naked and slept in the same bed with Tay, they engaged in intercourse while Tay was right beside them.”

Tian further claimed that Hope had been granted “50/50” custody of Tay at age 5. Her mother, Angela, moved to Los Angeles, where the girl would periodically visit before finally relocating to the city in 2017 after making it big on social media at age 9.  

On GoFundMe, Tian went on to allege that Hope neglected Tay, serving the then-elementary schooler moldy, maggot-infested meals and forcing her to wear worn togs.

He also claimed that Hope’s wife, Hanee, began physically tormenting the girl by “hitting and locking her in the dark closet,” with her father’s permission.

Tian alleged that Hanee also once broke Tay’s toe by intentionally slamming her foot into a door. 

He additionally claimed the abuse wasn’t solely physical. 

“They also started to refer to Tay as a ch–k, b—h and motherf—er,” wrote Tian.

“Tay remembers them speaking and fantasizing about killing my mom and her and starting a new family,” he continued. “Tay became very paranoid and became depressed and developed bad anxiety.”

After alerting the authorities to the alleged battery of the minor, Hope and Hanee were said to have “beat Tay on her face and body,” per Tian’s written plea. 

Following the alleged attack, the girl began residing in LA with Angela and Tian. 

Upon her move in 2013, Tian claimed Hope immediately stopped paying child support — allegedly placing him $400,000 in arrears — and did not see Tay until May 2018, during her rise to fame on YouTube. 

As a digital personality, best known for making cheeky remarks about her wealth and holding stacks of cash to her ear, Tay ultimately garnered over 3.3 million Instagram followers. 

However, her social media posts began to dwindle after 2018, leaving fans to question her disappearance from the influencer trade. 

At the time, Tian had already begun making public allegations of abuse against Hope. However, Tay’s then-manager Henry Tsang denied the claims.

“Christopher Hope does not want any money from Lil Tay,” he told the Daily Beast in 2018. 

“There are only three things he wants to see,” said Tsang. “First, no more crazy videos of cursing from Tay. Second, 25% of the gross earnings going to a trust fund dedicated to Tay. The third thing is, there has to be structure in her operation, in her public image.”

But Tian doubled down on his claims that Tay was an abused child. 

In his 2021 cry for monetary donations on behalf of Tay, he explained, in part: “My sister Tay has been silent on social media for the past 3 years because her absentee father (Chris Hope) served my mother a court order demanding control over Tay’s money, career and custody.”

Tian continued, “As a result, it was court ordered that my sister had to return to Vancouver, Canada…Since then he has stolen millions of dollars from my sister and has taken control of all her funds.”