Lil Tay is alive, claims Instagram account was hacked, TMZ reports

Canadian social media star Lil Tay is alive and claims her Instagram account was hacked prior to the post announcing her death this week, according to TMZ.

The outlet shared a statement attributed to the Vancouver-area teenager saying she was "completely heartbroken" as news of her death spread on Wednesday.

"All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess," read the statement, which was provided exclusively to TMZ.

The positive update was welcomed by many of her 3.4 million followers, though some questioned why it took more than 24 hours for the family to publicly dispute the reports of her demise.

The news made it to numerous Canadian, American and International news outlets, including Variety, the L.A. Times and The Guardian.

CTV News reached out to Tay's father, a former manager, the B.C. Coroners Service and several police departments across the Lower Mainland on Wednesday, but was unable to corroborate the claims of her death shared on her official account.

The post in question was removed from Tay's Instagram account on Thursday morning. The teenager told TMZ she sought help from Meta to regain control of the account.

CTV News has reached out to Meta for comment on Tay's hacking claims.

Tay became a viral sensation in 2018 through posts that featured her swearing, posing with stacks of $100 bills and bragging about buying expensive sports cars – despite only being nine years old at the time.

"Lil Tay has copped a brand new Ferrari. Y'all haven't seen this car in your lives, I'm out here flexing and all y'all broke-ass haters," she says in one video, which was viewed 13 million times.

"Y'all grown ass men hating on me 'cause you're broke and jealous."

Prior to Wednesday's post, her account appears to have been dormant for several years.

One 2018 video landed Tay's mother, former real estate agent Angela Tian, in hot water after one of her clients recognized his home being used as a backdrop for a Lil Tay video.

The Metro Vancouver property was presented as an apartment overlooking the Hollywood Hills. Tian ultimately resigned from Pacific Evergreen Realty, the company that was representing the listing.