Piano Prodigy Elias Phoenix, Who Appeared on “Ellen”, Accuses Brother and Late Mom of Physical and Emotional Abuse as Child

Elias Phoenix, a child piano prodigy who made several appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , claimed that his brother and late mother physically and emotionally abused him as a kid

In a series of posts to X on Sept. 16, Elias detailed his allegations and shared videos where it appeared that his mother screamed at him and called him expletives

"genuinely a miracle I'm still alive," he wrote in one post

Elias Phoenix — a child piano prodigy — has come forward with allegations of abuse against his brother and late mother.

Phoenix, 20, first gained prominence in 2014 through a series of appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , where he won over audiences with his incredible piano talents, his adorable personality and his characteristic top hat. He also performed as a child at Carnegie Hall and competed as a piano duo alongside his twin brother Zion on season 11 of America's Got Talent .

In a series of posts to X on Sept. 16, Elias claimed that his mother and brother physically and emotionally abused him on multiple occasions throughout his childhood.

In one post, Elias shared several videos from 2017 where it appeared that his mother — who has since died of cancer — screamed at him and called him expletives while he was recording an audition for The Juilliard School, a prestigious conservatory.

"as seen, zion and mom would mentally torture me, zion locked me out the house at one point, and mom is blaming me for her dying of cancer," Elias alleged in his post.

"this was not a one-time occurence either, these mfs would abuse tf outta me physically and emotionally directly before shows, especially during the later ones," he continued. "genuinely a miracle I'm still alive."

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Elias went on to claim that the alleged abuse had left him with "anorexia from them both calling me fat repeatedly, constant self hate, fear of ever playing music again, and really bad suicidal ideation/depression."

"but somehow i continue to thrive, and stay surprisingly insanely Elias Phoenix thru everything, and im so thankful to still be fighting for me," he wrote. "I make beats now, made by only me, heard by only me, made for only me, and there's comfort in knowing no one is making me do it."

Elias did not share further details about how or when the alleged abuse occurred. PEOPLE has reached out to Zion for comment.

Since his stardom as a child, Elias has kept a relatively low profile online, only occasionally sharing life updates to his X account. In March 2024, he celebrated passing his final GED tests, and the next month, he marked his 18th birthday.

In August, he shared a video to YouTube — his first post to his channel in six years — of a song that he produced titled "_arewestilllive."

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.