Los Angeles, Aug 11 (IANS): Teenage rapper Lil Tay and her brother Jason were said to have died on August 9, but since then, the rapper has come out and said that she and her brother are alive. 

The teen rapper added that the report of their death was completely untrue, saying that her account was hacked.

In a statement, she told TMZ: "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. It's been a very traumatising 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 said: "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. My legal name is Tay Tian, not 'Claire Hope'."

Thanking Meta for helping her regain control of her Instagram account, she also wondered what exactly happened that it took more than 24 hours for them to get back control and reveal that the news of her and and her brother's deaths were falsified.

Back on August 9, a message had come on Instagram from her family which said: "It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire's sudden and tragic passing."

"This outcome was entirely unexpected and has left us all in shock. Her brother's passing adds an even more unimaginable depth to our grief. During this time of immense sorrow, we kindly ask for privacy as we grieve this overwhelming loss, as the circumstances surrounding Claire and her brother's passing are still under investigation."

However, her death was already being brought into question as her manager Harry Tsang had said that Tay and her brother had no history of health issues and that the "family member" who posted that message was also unknown. In addition, police authorities in both Vancouver and Los Angeles got no such reports, regarding her or her brother's deaths.

Tay had become the youngest child influencer on social media as she gained over 3.3 million followers on Instagram, though since 2018 she had not posted anything. This was due to a massive custody battle between her father Christopher Hope and her mother Angela Tian, which did not get sorted out for a while.