Old man yells at cloud
May 8, 2018 7:08 PM Subscribe
“Recently, Lil Tay entered into this fray. Tay is—as far as we know—a 9-year-old girl, an ostensible recording artist, the self-described ‘youngest flexer in the game,’ a possessor of some truly above-grade-level curse words, and the cause of my near-breakdown as I’ve tried to determine just who the hell put her up to this.”
I Drove Myself Nuts Trying to Unravel the Mystery of Seemingly Unparented 9-Year-Old Instagram Shit-Talker Lil Tay, from Jezebel
I Drove Myself Nuts Trying to Unravel the Mystery of Seemingly Unparented 9-Year-Old Instagram Shit-Talker Lil Tay, from Jezebel
I miss Web 1.0.
posted by TrialByMedia at 7:36 PM on May 8, 2018 [27 favorites]
posted by TrialByMedia at 7:36 PM on May 8, 2018 [27 favorites]
I just finished that article and the semi follow-up. I'm not sure what to make of this really. Mainly I'm sorry this girl send to be getting exploited, but I'm not sure how much of a difference the web makes here in this story. Is it the same wrapper of terrible stage parents doing shitty things to their child for cash? Or is it fundamentally different?
posted by Carillon at 7:45 PM on May 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Carillon at 7:45 PM on May 8, 2018 [6 favorites]
I suspect that Anna Merlan had that same argument I've had 100 times about Lil Tay and Danielle Bregoli - that it's an act that feeds into our worst instincts for drama, like Real Housewives of Orange County, white trash edition. That like a reality show it's all scripted. But she writes about it all obliquely that it's not really convincing of anything at all.
Is it the same wrapper of terrible stage parents doing shitty things to their child for cash? Or is it fundamentally different?
I don't think so, no.
posted by muddgirl at 7:49 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Is it the same wrapper of terrible stage parents doing shitty things to their child for cash? Or is it fundamentally different?
I don't think so, no.
posted by muddgirl at 7:49 PM on May 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
This article about the late actor Brad Renfro mentions that one of the few people a child actor has on their side is a “studio teacher,” a grownup in the room whose job it is to watch out for the child’s interests over the production company’s. Obviously that’s not foolproof, but it has definitely helped some children. Lil Tay doesn’t have even that, and is “homeschooled”, apparently. What oversight have young social media stars got? The whole world, you might say, but they can only act after the damage is done.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:53 PM on May 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 7:53 PM on May 8, 2018 [13 favorites]
Darn it, a better post title should have been based on this.
posted by Grandysaur at 8:14 PM on May 8, 2018
posted by Grandysaur at 8:14 PM on May 8, 2018
wtf did i just read?
I've really had enough of 2018, thanks.
posted by Squeak Attack at 9:08 PM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
I've really had enough of 2018, thanks.
posted by Squeak Attack at 9:08 PM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
America: still eating its young.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:15 PM on May 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:15 PM on May 8, 2018 [4 favorites]
USE BE LIVIN IN THE HOOD IN ATLANTA BROKE ASF 3 YEARS AGO AND IM GONNA TELL YALL RIGHT NOW YOU YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH YOUR DREAMS IF YOU WORK HARD!America: fuck you, I got mine.
posted by flabdablet at 10:03 PM on May 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Sadly, she's not just an AI trained on tweets. What a life.
posted by batter_my_heart at 10:13 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by batter_my_heart at 10:13 PM on May 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
I just lost twenty minutes of my life intently reading this. I will never get those precious twenty minutes back.
posted by zaelic at 2:37 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by zaelic at 2:37 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
USE BE LIVIN IN THE HOOD IN ATLANTA
Sandy Springs?
posted by thelonius at 3:10 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sandy Springs?
posted by thelonius at 3:10 AM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I will never get those precious twenty minutes back.
Sometimes, reading stuff on the Web feels like playing the lottery. It's people who don't play who always win.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:40 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
Sometimes, reading stuff on the Web feels like playing the lottery. It's people who don't play who always win.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:40 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
I thiink I now prefer That Poppy, where a lot of effort goes into convincing us that she is not real.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 4:04 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 4:04 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
America: still eating its young.
Canada. America's still eating Canada's young.
posted by xigxag at 4:45 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Canada. America's still eating Canada's young.
posted by xigxag at 4:45 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
an impenetrable beef taking place between YouTube-famous teens, egged on by adult men inexplicably hanging around with them
"Inexplicably" means "a quick buck and a little pedophilic thrill" now?
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:08 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Inexplicably" means "a quick buck and a little pedophilic thrill" now?
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 5:08 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
Apologies up front...
Bear with me here, please, 'cause this is a question I need to ask, but it's also kind of a gross ask...Are we absolutely certain Tay is actually a 9-year-old girl? I'm asking this because, every so often, out on the...um...darker...edges of internet pop culture, there will appear young women who are able to play very underage, though they are actually much older. To me, it's not entirely inconceivable that Tay is, say, 15, 16, 17 playing 9. Still not cool, of course.
I need to go hose-off the slime now...sorry.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:38 AM on May 9, 2018
Bear with me here, please, 'cause this is a question I need to ask, but it's also kind of a gross ask...Are we absolutely certain Tay is actually a 9-year-old girl? I'm asking this because, every so often, out on the...um...darker...edges of internet pop culture, there will appear young women who are able to play very underage, though they are actually much older. To me, it's not entirely inconceivable that Tay is, say, 15, 16, 17 playing 9. Still not cool, of course.
I need to go hose-off the slime now...sorry.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:38 AM on May 9, 2018
Merlan implied several times that Lil Tay is over the age of 13, but again her piece is written all implicitely.
posted by muddgirl at 7:41 AM on May 9, 2018
posted by muddgirl at 7:41 AM on May 9, 2018
Wow, this is some real "maybe I should go live in a cabin off the grid" stuff.
So, this kid's idea of "spreading positivity" and "motivational speaking" is swearing, racist epithets, bragging about material possessions and insulting anyone who doesn't have them? She insists she's drowning in money but doesn't seem to have done anything to earn it other than post on Instagram bragging that she's rich?
And that manager's wall of buzzword-speak. Shudder.
It's cargo cult fame. Speak the right buzzwords, behave like people do on TV, insist that you're famous, and voila, any attention you get becomes validation that indeed you are rich and famous.
posted by dnash at 8:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
So, this kid's idea of "spreading positivity" and "motivational speaking" is swearing, racist epithets, bragging about material possessions and insulting anyone who doesn't have them? She insists she's drowning in money but doesn't seem to have done anything to earn it other than post on Instagram bragging that she's rich?
And that manager's wall of buzzword-speak. Shudder.
It's cargo cult fame. Speak the right buzzwords, behave like people do on TV, insist that you're famous, and voila, any attention you get becomes validation that indeed you are rich and famous.
posted by dnash at 8:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [6 favorites]
I don't care if this kid is 9, or 15. Whoever is doing this is setting her up to be groomed and sexually assaulted. And that's not an exaggeration. This has been slowly popping up all over my internet territory, and most of the comments are the same - mostly hate for the subject matter (cursing, cars, money, etc). Which is like... okay, we get it, you've got contempt for a common black narrative. In the first couple comments in this thread - it's detached and passive. 'get this thing away from me'. This isn't just some philosophical or abstract occurrence. The jezebel article, thank god, frames this situation as what it really is - a live broadcast of the endangerment of a child.
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:18 AM on May 9, 2018 [25 favorites]
Sometimes the best part of MeFi is the FILTER. thanks to those brave enough to read/watch this and comment so that i don't have to.
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:27 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by OHenryPacey at 8:27 AM on May 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
I agree with FirstMateKate a hundred percent. How many posts have we had on Metafilter about the incredibly toxic nature of the internet when it comes to women? How much damage does this toxic environment inflict on the adult women who have been targeted by it, and how much worse is it for a child, be she 9 or 13? I am full of rage, and yet unsurprised, that someone is wishing for this girl to grow up so she can be raped. That is what she is being exposed to, and I cannot imagine that it's not going to cause her a lifetime of pain.
posted by dellsolace at 8:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by dellsolace at 8:51 AM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
She insists she's drowning in money but doesn't seem to have done anything to earn it other than post on Instagram bragging that she's rich?
When I was nine, I still thought it was just possible that Pennywise could come up through the bathroom sink.
Some people have called for a flat ban on child acting, saying that child performers can now be replaced by a mixture of CGI and small adults, but I don't think that's right. Child actors who were respectfully treated have come away with happy memories and intact souls, but people were watching for them, caring for them, parenting them.
With social media fame, there are even fewer protections for the children, and the children themselves are changed into characters. As long as there are children who have bad parents -- which will be as long as children have parents -- there will be people who are willing to sell their children's souls. New technologies mean new protections are needed. I don't know what to propose exactly, considering how bad our old protections can be, but there it is.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:53 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
When I was nine, I still thought it was just possible that Pennywise could come up through the bathroom sink.
Some people have called for a flat ban on child acting, saying that child performers can now be replaced by a mixture of CGI and small adults, but I don't think that's right. Child actors who were respectfully treated have come away with happy memories and intact souls, but people were watching for them, caring for them, parenting them.
With social media fame, there are even fewer protections for the children, and the children themselves are changed into characters. As long as there are children who have bad parents -- which will be as long as children have parents -- there will be people who are willing to sell their children's souls. New technologies mean new protections are needed. I don't know what to propose exactly, considering how bad our old protections can be, but there it is.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:53 AM on May 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
It's cargo cult fame.
That's such a great way of describing it.
posted by meese at 10:33 AM on May 9, 2018
That's such a great way of describing it.
posted by meese at 10:33 AM on May 9, 2018
To see her yelling into a camera, surrounded by people at minimum twice her age, is the psychological equivalent of a screaming tea kettle: Someone needs to do something about this right now. Who put that there?
That‘s where I stand. It‘s not the yelling of obscenities that shocks me. It‘s the gaggle of adult men that always seem to surround her. The way they‘re laughing. Filming her antics. Egging her on. It makes me want to scream. It‘s everything that‘s wrong. I literally couldn‘t finish watching the video with the Gucci rant.
posted by Omnomnom at 1:40 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
That‘s where I stand. It‘s not the yelling of obscenities that shocks me. It‘s the gaggle of adult men that always seem to surround her. The way they‘re laughing. Filming her antics. Egging her on. It makes me want to scream. It‘s everything that‘s wrong. I literally couldn‘t finish watching the video with the Gucci rant.
posted by Omnomnom at 1:40 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
It’s like watching a car crash in super slo-mo. There’s no timeline where this girl’s life doesn’t end in disaster.
posted by gnutron at 2:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gnutron at 2:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Lil Tay's "Momager" Fired From Real Estate Firm [dailyhive]
posted by porpoise at 3:48 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by porpoise at 3:48 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Of course the Vancouver real estate market is involved.
posted by TrialByMedia at 6:43 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by TrialByMedia at 6:43 PM on May 9, 2018 [5 favorites]
What's the Vancouver equivalent of Child Protective Services? Has anyone called it?
posted by gusandrews at 8:41 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by gusandrews at 8:41 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
I don't think the author was implying that Tay was 13, just that an adult created the accounts for her. There are some shots in which the age is sort of unclear due to makeup but the kid in the last picture in the link that porpoise posted is definitely pre-pubescent.
This feels like some weird 21st century version of Marjoe Gortner or other child preachers.
posted by phoenixy at 9:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
This feels like some weird 21st century version of Marjoe Gortner or other child preachers.
posted by phoenixy at 9:35 PM on May 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
So we can assume that the penthouse Lil Tay shows off in her video is actually one her real estate broker mom was supposed to be selling before she got fired?
posted by Omnomnom at 12:08 AM on May 10, 2018
posted by Omnomnom at 12:08 AM on May 10, 2018
Her Mother has been fired from her real-estate job. I presume because she was filming her 9 year-old in the clients $500,000 dollar cars.
posted by Sprocket at 9:06 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Sprocket at 9:06 PM on May 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Atlantic: The Lil Tay Saga Reaches Its Logical Conclusion
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:01 AM on May 24, 2018
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:01 AM on May 24, 2018
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posted by tantrumthecat at 7:24 PM on May 8, 2018 [16 favorites]