Inside rise and fall of Hawk Tuah lady Haliey Welch as crypto scheme backfires
Haliey Welch – known globally as the Hawk Tuah girl – achieved overnight fame after two words made her go viral on the internet but things have spiralled in recent days
A lot can change in six months – just ask Hawk Tuah girl Haliey Welch.
Her life changed in an instant in June after she achieved global stardom after being filmed saying a casual joke. Despite transforming her fortunes overnight, she is now facing possible criminal charges after her crypto memecoin ‘scam’.
So, how did she become a hero so quickly before turning into the villain soon after? Below we look inside her rapid rise and fall.
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Who is Haliey
Earlier this year, Haliey, who is from Belfast, Tennessee, worked in a spring factory and had already dropped out of school “a year or two ago”.
She lived in the pint-sized town with her Granny Janie who, speaking about her granddaughter’s sudden fame, said: “I don’t know how to feel, it’s crazy. I never thought anything like this would happen. It’s just too much to comprehend.”
She added: “I just want her to stay with me as long as I’m here.”
And speaking on the Good For You podcast, Haliey, 22, made an emotional confession about her childhood, describing herself as a “crack baby”.
Asked about her mother, she replied: “My mama a crackhead, you don’t want here.”
She later added: “Yeah, I’m a crack baby. Why do you think I’m so funny?”
Haliey was raised by her grandmother and she revealed in a separate interview that she does not speak to her mother and is unsure of her whereabouts.
Speaking to Bill Maher, she added: “I’ve done this long without her, I don’t need her now. Never have. Because I got my granny girl.”
Rise
Nashville native Haliey became an internet star after a street interview with Tim and Dee TV went viral.
She was suddenly one of the most recognisable faces on the internet after being asked about the one move in bed that makes men go crazy. Replying, she said: “Oh, you gotta give him that ‘huak tuah’ and spit on that thang.”
Haliey had been to the CMA Fest in Nashville the night the video was taken and said she had been drinking when the TikTokers approached her.
She said the comment was just a joke and she “didn’t mean anything by it”.
However, her life transformed, and in one post soon after she said: “Three weeks ago my life was totally different… I was working a humble 9-5 in my hometown.
“No talk shows or paparazzi were looking for me and no celebrities were reaching out to collab. I was just Haliey.
“I never could’ve dreamed that making a silly joke would lead to all of this but I’m so grateful for this blessing. I’m also grateful for all of you, yall laughed WITH me and not AT me. I can’t thank yall enough… Let’s see what happened next.”
What happened next involved Haliey becoming a beloved sensation who began mingling with A-listers.
She quit her bed spring factory job after the video went viral and by the end of June she had signed a merchandise deal with Fathead Threats.
They reportedly made $65,000 worth of merchandise instantly before she found herself signing on stage with country singer Zach Bryan.
Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal was bragging on social media about taking pictures with her soon after.
However, speaking to Brianna LaPagliam, she said she wanted to be known by other things as opposed to just being the Hawk Tuah girl.
She said: “I don’t really want that to be, like, my image. I just – I don’t see that being, like, my thang, you know? I don’t want to be known as that.”
Unfortunately for Haliey, who now has 2.6million followers on Instagram, she has since become known for something more infamous.
Downfall
After a rollercoaster six months, Haliey came crashing back down to earth recently after the flop of her own cryptocurrency memecoin HAWK.
Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that are based on viral memes and pop culture references.
There were allegations of insider trading and she could face criminal charges after some fans claimed they lost their “life savings” on it.
She even bowed out of a X spaces session after being grilled over the “scam” before she said she was “going to bed”.
Haliey has been accused of scamming investors with her failed $HAWK memecoin. HAWK’s value plummeted by more than 90 per cent mere hours after launching, with at least one investor filing a complaint with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, reports the Independent.
HAWK launched on the Solana blockchain on the evening of Wednesday, December 4, with a price of $0.005492 (£0.0043). It quickly rocketed by more than 900%, accumulating a market cap of $490 million.
After peaking at $0.00004028 (£0.000032), HAWK’s market cap dropped to $60 million – a colossal 91% drop in value.
Folk have blamed the plunge on insider wallets and snipers – outfits that buy up huge amounts of a token’s supply when launched – which reportedly controlled between 80%-90% of HAWK’s supply.
If there is evidence of financial misconduct, the Department of Justice (DOJ) could consider criminal charges like money laundering or wire fraud.
Yuriy Brisov, a partner at law firm Digital and Analogue Partners, told Coin Telegraph: “Insider trading traditionally involves trading securities based on material, non-public information, breaching a duty of trust or confidence.
“In the context of cryptocurrencies, the legal framework is still evolving. If Welch’s team possessed non-public information about the token’s launch or had pre-arranged strategies to sell significant portions of the supply, leading to the token’s price collapse, such actions could be scrutinized under fraud or market manipulation statutes.”
