Who is Christopher J Hope? Lil Tay's dad accused of demanding custody, money and control over rapper's career
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: On August 9, Lil Tay was reported dead via a statement posted on her official Instagram page. The statement revealed that the young YouTuber suddenly died at the age of 14 and further mentioned that her brother, Jason Tian, has also reportedly passed away.
It also said that the circumstances surrounding the death of the siblings “are still under investigation.” Despite the statement, Tay's father, Christopher Hope, allegedly refrained from confirming the passing of his daughter and sparked a major speculation surrounding the circumstances of her death.
Media reports revealed that Hope allegedly said "he could not comment on the Instagram post" about Tay's death and that he "declined to answer whether his daughter was still alive."
Back in 2021, Tay fans across the world were worried sick after a concerning Instagram story from the pre-teen rapper's account was shared with her 1.9 million fans. The text of the story simply read, "We have bad news about Tay..." and fans of the young star went into a frenzy looking for answers about her whereabouts.
Another message was shared to her stories on April 22, 2021, suggesting it was time to reveal what happened to the rapper. Shortly after another story went live on her page, this time it was a countdown and it read, "Tomorrow 6:00 pm EST," alerting fans to stay hooked to her page for the assumed ominous news. Another alert was shared on her stories at 4 pm on Friday, April 23, 2021. It outlined her accusations against dad Christopher J Hope.
"I'm guessing Lil Tay is making some sort of return with a collab. Not sure about the "Help me" message 2 years ago. We'll see," wrote another fan in anticipation. "38 minutes till Lil Tay news drops. Still on pins and needles," another fan tweeted. "Hope the goat, Lil Tay, okay and come out w some new content," another hopeful fan tweeted. As the alert said, Lil Tay shared a video of her crying and the caption revealed her father was demanding custody, money, and control over her career.
im guessing Lil Tay is making some sort of return with a collab. Not sure about the "Help me" message 2 years ago. We'll see
— Vice City (@ViceCity_1) April 23, 2021
38 minutes til Lil Tay news drops. Still on pins and needles...
— geoff (@geoff5point0) April 23, 2021
Who is Lil Tay's father Christopher J Hope?
In 2019, Christopher J Hope who had just acquired custody of his daughter, spoke to The Blast suggesting he didn't have a problem with her rising fame but he had an issue being edged out of her life. "I have been a major, significant part of my daughter’s life since she was born. In the last two years, this changed (due to what my daughter was told by other people, and the actions of other people, not anything that I did), but she has always remained a source of pride and I have done my best to be the father she needs."
"I do regret not being able to fight past the other people in her life, who did not want me to be a part of her life, in the last while. I felt I had to step in this year because I felt it was my responsibility to try to keep her safe and keep her future from being ruined by people who just want to make money from her," Hope added.
The caption of Lil Tay's latest Instagram post reveals, "This was the moment in 2018 my mom showed Tay the court order from her abusive father demanding custody, money, and control over her career. Starting today, she will be fighting for her life in the Supreme Court of Canada. Tay has no money left to pay lawyers for fighting for her freedom, her father has stolen everything from her, she has been physically and mentally abused by her father and his current wife.
"Please visit the link in bio for the full story in the GoFundMe and donate and share, your donation will go towards Tay’s legal fees giving her a fighting chance at freedom in court. You are Tay’s last hope in saving her from a life of abuse," the caption read. "We greatly appreciate any help Tay can get. Every dollar & every share counts. #SAVELILTAY." The fundraiser has been started by her brother Jason Tian.
Lil Tay's father had abuse allegations levied against him in 2019
This is not the first time Hope is accused of being abusive towards Lil Tay. In 2019, Hope, an attorney in Canada sent off a cease and desist to Lil Tay's brother Jason after similar allegations were made on the rapper's Instagram. Hope claimed Jason was behind the posts and that he had allegedly encouraged others to “conduct criminal extortion and harassment.”
Hope wanted Lil Tay to continue with her education alongside maintaining her Instagram career. "People have to remember that my daughter is just a little girl. She needs to go to school and be happy and healthy. She does not need to make money for other people. Because she wants to sing and act, I will support her in that," he had said at the time. Hope has yet to revert about the recent allegations.