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Hailey Welch—a.k.a. Hawk Tuah Girl—emerged as the biggest viral sensation of 2024 after a street interview launched her into the spotlight. However, things took a turn thanks to her involvement in the launch of “memecoin” with all the makings of a cryptocurrency scam, and she’s finally addressed the situation after going dark.
The internet has spawned an objectively bizarre reality where random people can obtain celebrity status overnight by going viral, and in June, Hailey Welch became the latest person to get that treatment after she uttered her signature “Hawk Tuah” while sharing a bedroom tip with some YouTubers chatting with revelers on Broadway in Nashville.
The 22-year-old wasted no time capitalizing on her newfound fame, as she appeared on stage at a Zach Bryan concert, threw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game, and even landed her own podcast. Talk Tuah, which debuted in September.
Episodes of that show were released on a weekly basis in the month that followed, but we haven’t been treated to a new one since the 13th, a sitdown with Brooke Schofield called “How To Avoid Getting Cancelled,” was released on December 3rd.
That title turned out to be a portent of things to come, as Welch found herself embroiled in a scandal the very next day stemming from the release of the HAWK Tuah memecoin that showed all the signs of a blatant pump-and-dump scam after hitting a $500 million market cap before plummeting in value.
The world has been deprived of new episodes of Talk Tuah ever since, and Welch stopped posting on her social media channels after initially attempting to distance herself from the situation.
It took more than two weeks, but Welch has finally addressed the scandal a day after the coin ended up at the center of a lawsuit with a statement where she advised victims of the scam to contact the law firm she says she’s been working with in an attempt to make things right.
I take this situation extremely seriously and want to address my fans, the investors who have been affected, and the broader community. I am fully cooperating with and am committed to assisting the legal team representing the individuals impacted, as well as to help uncover the…
— Haliey Welch (@HalieyWelchX) December 20, 2024
We live in some truly strange times.