Hawk Tuah girl Haliey Welch quickly became an internet sensation. (Photo courtesy Hay_Welch Instagram).
Perhaps the name Haliey Welch doesn’t ring a bell for you. That’s entirely understandable.
How about the Hawk Tuah girl? Okay, now the light bulb is going on. You’ve heard of her. In fact, if you’ve been anywhere on social media in the past couple of months, you’ve certainly also seen her in action.
Welch and Hawk Tuah girl are one in the same and she is an internet sensation who is surprisingly going about as mainstream as you can get.
She went viral after appearing on Tim & Dee TV’s street interview show in June. Such is her fame as the Hawk Tuah girl, Welch was recently given an invitation to throw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game.
Now, were you to conduct a review of Bovada Sportsbook, it’s safe to assume you’d be likely to come across odds on the Mets to win the World Series, the NLCS, even the National League East Division flag. But to invite the Hawk Tuah girl to partake in such a revered honor as to be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch? No, that’s a prop play which you wouldn’t have had on your bingo card.
Displaying her first-pitch appearance on the official MLB feed on X, the social media site once called Twitter, the post read, “Viral internet star Haliey Welch threw out the first pitch at the Mets game today,” completely glossing over the reason behind her fame.
How Hawk Tuah Girl Came To Be
This YouTube interview turned Haliey Welch into a viral sensation as “Hawk Tuah Girl.” (YouTube.com screenshot).
During the CMA Fest in Nashville on June 11, 2024, Tim & Dee TV randomly interviewed two young women for a segment on their YouTube show. During the video, Welch was asked a number of questions that the hosts classified as not safe for work.
One question posed to her was, “What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?” In a rich southern accent, Welch’s answer began “You gotta give ’em that ‘hawk tuah,” As for the rest of her answer, you probably already know. If not, go ahead and watch the video . . . but don’t say that we didn’t warn you.
Instant Internet Fame Arrives
It wasn’t long before Welch, a.k.a. Hawk Tuah Girl, was going viral on the internet. The video garnered millions of views on both TikTok and Instagram. The sensation it created led to the spawning of remixes and remakes. Before long, Hawk Tuah was a phrase that had entered the lexicon of the mainstream media.
People may not have known the name of the 21-year-old Welch, but everyone was certainly aware of Hawk Tuah girl.
Welch was moving quickly in order to capitalize on her sudden internet fame. She launched her own TikTok and Instagram accounts. On the first day, she amassed more than 100,000 followers on Instagram.
She quit her job at a mattress spring factory to become Hawk Tuah girl on a full-time basis. Welch hired The Penthouse Group to represent her and filed for trademarks to protect her popular and suddenly famous catchphrase.
Welch Becoming Pop Culture Icon
Almost overnight, it seemed as though even the rich and famous wanted to be seen with the Hawk Tuah girl. One June 29, Welch would join country singer Zach Bryan on stage in a duet of his hit song Revival. She appeared with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal during his DJ set in Nashville.
Comedian Bill Maher, host of Real Time on HBO, invited Welch on his Club Random podcast. She was also featured during the Good For You podcast with comedian Whitney Cummings.
As well, Welch would join Brianna LaPaglia on her Pan Bri Uncut podcast, talking about how she was seeking to grow to become more than just the Hawk Tuah girl.
“I don’t really want that to be like, my image,” Welch explained. “Like, ‘Hawk Tuah Girl?’ Eh. I just . . . I don’t see that being like, my thing . . . I don’t wanna be known as that.”
Capitalizing On Her Fame
Welch was learning quickly that others would try to take advantage of her popularity to enrich themselves. Taking to her Instagram account, she was quick to criticize those who are putting out unauthorized Hawk Tuah merchandise.
“Any of you selling or purchasing merchandise online, it’s not from me,” she said. “It’s not approved by me and it’s counterfeit and I’m not making a damn dime off of any of it. But I just hired a manager and I hired an attorney. So we’re coming for you . . .”
Welch was quick to add that she’d launched her own LLC, called 16 Minutes – a play on the popular phrase about everyone getting their 15 minutes of fame – and would be launching her own line of merch.
“I’m launching my own merch store very soon and you’ll be the first to get your official Hawk Tuah merch from me,” Welch noted.
In fact, a line of hats featuring her trademark phrase created in partnership with Nashville firm Fathead Threads has already led to some $65,000 in sales. They are selling autographed hats for $40 and unsigned hats for $32.
Trying To Do Some Good
To her credit, Welch is attempting to do some good via her new found fame. She has published videos to help local animal shelters display dogs that are awaiting adoption. Filming a video with Dolly Parton’s song 9 to 5 playing in the background, Rolling Stone dubbed Welch a Gen Z Dolly Parton.
In fact, her controversial first pitch appearance at the August 15 Mets games was designed to help bring awareness to the cause of service dogs for veterans.
“So I guess the baseball community wasn’t too happy to see me,” Welch posted on Instagram. “That’s okay, the main reason I went to the game was to spread awareness and donate to America’s VetDogs, which pairs dogs with war veterans for a forever home. Join me in donating to this amazing charity.”
