Lil Tay is now launching a pop career after the death hoax that relaunched her into the spotlight — and she feels better than ever.
“I finally have my freedom back,” Tay told Rolling Stone in an interview published on Monday, November 13. “And I get to pursue what I want with it.”
In her first lengthy interview since the death hoax, Tay — who the article notes is 16, per court records — said that she “always had a vision of myself becoming famous” when she was younger. “It was something I wanted to do,” she added. “And I just spoke it into reality.”
Since Tay dropped her debut single, “Sucker 4 Green,” in September, observers have wondered whether she or someone on her team was responsible for the August Instagram post that claimed Tay and her brother, Jason Tian, had died. Tay claimed to the outlet that she already had a comeback planned before the death hoax became national news.
“I had some songs that I wanted to put out after winning my freedom,” she said, claiming that her father, Christopher Hope, orchestrated the hoax as a “last resort” to “sabotage” her career. “And thankfully, I did. So I was looking to get back on track as soon as I could. And then the death thing happens.”
Hope, meanwhile, denied that he had anything to do with the reports of his daughter’s death. “Somebody has a strategy that a good way to get publicity is to make accusations against me,” he told Rolling Stone. “They’re all false.”
Tay’s mother, Angela Tian, and Hope fought a bitter court battle over Tay’s career, which began in 2018 when Tay went viral for her foulmouthed social media videos about “broke-ass bitches” and “moving bricks.” Hope was opposed to some of his daughter’s age-inappropriate online content, but Tay and her mother claimed that Hope was abusive. (Hope has repeatedly denied Angela and Tay’s claims.)
Shortly after the death hoax made headlines in August, a statement shared via Tay’s Instagram account claimed that Angela won her custody battle with Hope, giving her decision-making authority over Tay’s career.
Tay went on to shut down further speculation that her brother, Jason, was the person behind the false report that his sister had died. “There’s always going to be conspiracy theories,” she told Rolling Stone. “If you want to make conspiracy theories, I can’t stop you.”