Viral internet personality and rapper Lil Tay, born Tay Tian, has once again ignited a firestorm of controversy and debate by announcing that she earned over $1 million within just three hours of launching an OnlyFans account on her 18th birthday, July 29, 2025.
The self-proclaimed “youngest flexer of the century,” who first rose to fame at age nine for her provocative social media presence, shared the staggering claim with her 5.8 million Instagram followers on August 3, 2025, accompanied by a screenshot detailing her alleged earnings.
In a video posted on Instagram and X, Lil Tay celebrated her milestone with characteristic bravado. “$1 million in a couple hours. I’m still the youngest one doing it for all the grown ass haters who’ve been hating since I was nine years old, look at me now,” she declared, addressing her longtime critics.
The screenshot she shared claimed a total of $1,024,298.09 in earnings, broken down as $511,003.79 from subscriptions, $486,558.11 from private messages, and $26,736.19 in tips, all purportedly amassed within three hours of her account going live.
“Not bad for 3 hours. We broke the f*ck out of that OnlyFans record,” her caption read, asserting that she had surpassed the previous record set by rapper Bhad Bhabie, who claimed $1 million in six hours after launching her “OnlyFan” account in 2021.
Lil Tay emphasized that all content was filmed at “12:01 a.m.” on her 18th birthday to ensure compliance with OnlyFans’ age requirements, which mandate that creators and subscribers be 18 or older.
Her “OnlyFan” bio, priced at $19.99 per month, describes her as “freshly 18” and includes the provocative line, “Please don’t tell my mom,” while inviting subscribers to “come see me in my birthday suits.”
The timing and framing of her launch, however, have fueled widespread backlash, with critics pointing to the disturbing trend of fans seemingly “counting down” to her legal age.
“Grown a** men waited for this child to turn 18,” one X user wrote, while another commented, “Anyone who spent money to send Lil Tay a message on “OnlyFan” should have their human rights stripped.”
Lil Tay first gained notoriety in 2018 as a nine-year-old (though she claimed to be nine when she was likely ten) by posting videos flaunting luxury cars, cash, and designer clothes.
In one viral clip, she boasted about driving a $200,000 red Mercedes-Benz despite her feet being too short to reach the pedals, declaring, “I ain’t got no license, but I still drive this sports car b**ch.”
Her early fame was orchestrated in part by her half-brother, Jason Tian, who coached her content and was accused of encouraging age-inappropriate behavior, including racial slurs.
Her career tooka rough turn in 2018 amid a custody battle between her parents. Her father sought to rebrand her image toward a more professional music career, while her mother and brother favored her chaotic influencer persona.
In August 2023, a viral death hoax falsely announced that Lil Tay and her brother had died, shocking fans until she clarified via TMZ that her account was hacked and both were alive. She later released a comeback single, “Sucker 4 Green,” in September 2023, and in 2024, underwent successful open-heart surgery for a heart tumor.
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The OnlyFans launch, announced days before her birthday with a public “vote” involving conservative commentators like Michael Knowles and YouTuber Pearl Davis, has drawn comparisons to Bhad Bhabie, with whom Lil Tay has a public feud.
The debate has also sparked calls for regulatory scrutiny, with some X users urging lawmakers to ban “OnlyFan”, citing its potential harm to young creators. “OnlyFans” must be banned,” one post declared, echoing sentiments that the platform’s accessibility to newly 18-year-olds normalizes exploitative dynamics. Meanwhile, Lil Tay remains defiant, encouraging others to “do whatever the h*ll you want with your life” and framing her success as a triumph over her detractors.