- 9-year-old internet star Lil Tay's Instagram posts were deleted on Monday.
- Over the past few months, her image has begun to fall apart as journalists questioned the adults around her.
- A few weeks ago, videos apparently showing her older brother feeding her lines went viral.
Something is going on with Lil Tay.
On Monday, the 9-year-old internet star apparently disappeared from Instagram. All of her posts were deleted, leaving nothing — not even a temporary explanatory story or a profile picture — for her 2.3 million followers to look at.
Diomi Cordero, a spokesperson for Lil Tay's family, told BuzzFeed News that she's going through a rebranding.
"I am rebranding Lil Tay ... stay tuned," he told BuzzFeed News.
If you're not familiar with Lil Tay, she's an unlikely internet celebrity. For the past few years, she — and her family, who ostensibly backs her and helps run her online accounts and influencer career — has made videos where she vociferously swears and trash talks other internet celebrities. Fans were entertained by the surprising antics — and boasts — of the 9-year-old.
But in the past few months, her image has begun to fall apart.
First came a series of stories that raised questions about Lil Tay's care. Critics of Tay lobbied a variety of criticisms at her family; she's really young, shouldn't she be in school instead of having minor celebrity beefs and hanging out with Jake Paul? Is she OK? Is her family managing her career or is it someone else? Why aren't the adults around her more forthcoming?
And in May, several videos went viral that apparently show Tay's teenage brother feeding her lines. The videos support the impression that Tay is being used by her family to create drama and make money as an influencer, and refute her authenticity and street cred.
—KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) May 21, 2018
Tay's mother Angela Tian — a Vancouver real estate agent — was also fired after it was revealed that she'd used her boss's car and several of the company's rental apartments in Tay's videos without permission.
So now it seems like Lil Tay and her family is in retreat. Her Instagram has been wiped clean, and there's no indication about what's next.
Lil Tay's management team didn't immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.
This post has been updated to reflect Cordero's comment.
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