What Hawk Tuah Girl tells us about who gets famous on the internet
Few pivot from meme fame to a management deal so why did it happen to Haliey Welch?
There’s a very specific type of internet fame that occurs when a person is filmed saying something memorable. The expression becomes social media’s favourite catchphrase for at least a week and it inspires a gazillion memes. Remember Damn Daniel, What Are Those? and Back Up Terry? All three are now classics but I bet you’ve forgotten the people at the centre of them.
That type of flash-in-the pan fame happens ever more frequently as the lifespan of memes and internet obsessions shortens. And because of that I thought that Hawk Tuah Girl, the 21-year-old who’s blown up after giving an on-street interview, would follow a similar path. Boy was I wrong.
Hawk Tuah Girl, whose real name is Haliey Welch, looks set to outlast the burst of interest in her viral moment. And the reasons why tell us a lot about how the internet works in 2024. Before we get into that let me explain why we are talking about Hawk Tuah Girl at all…
Welch’s wild ride started in early June while she was enjoying a night out in Nashville, in her native Tennessee. Her friend Jesse was approached by Tim & Dee TV, YouTubers who interview people about dating and sex. When Jesse was reluctant to answer the question, “what’s the one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?” she pulled in Welch. Without taking a beat Welch replied: “You gotta give him that ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that thing you get me?”
It’s impossible to describe the enthusiasm of Welch’s delivery so if you’ve not seen her articulate her oral sex tip yet, this is the moment that made her go mega viral…
Like Kombucha Girl and The Backpack Kid before her the video led to Welch being quickly named by viewers and Hawk Tuah Girl was born.
It wasn’t just an identity that was created, some invented back stories for Welch including that she was a preschool teacher who had been fired and that her father was a preacher. None of that is true.
Some tried to track Welch down online, bombarded her with messages on VSCO (her only active public profile until the last few days), took pictures from her friend’s Instagram accounts and created fake profiles of her. Others made money off the catchphrase by selling merchandise.
Welch was overwhelmed by the attention but thought it was a moment she should seize. After giving a trusted friend permission to create ‘official’ Hawk Tuah hats Welch laid low for several days then signed a management team from The Penthouse to help her figure out the next steps.
On Saturday Welch re-launched herself into the public eye by joining country singer Zach Bryan on stage at his Nashville concert. Wearing a cowboy hat, Daisy Duke shorts and heeled boots, she strutted up to a microphone and shouted out “Hawk Tuah”.
It was a spectacular moment in terms of establishing just how famous Welch is. One of country music’s biggest artists wanted her on his stage, by his side, and the crowd went wild.
Welch then sat down for her first interview with Brianna LaPaglia for her podcast Plan Bri Uncut. LaPaglia, who’s dating Zach Bryan, filmed the interview backstage at his gig.
Released on Monday Welch set the record straight telling LaPaglia that she had worked in a “spring factory” but had since quit to pursue the opportunities that followed her viral moment. Welch said she didn't want to be defined by the Hawk Tuah moment and that she planned to “do a show” and be on “a bunch of podcasts”. She added: “There is more to come, don’t worry.”
Welch’s confidence that she can turn her moment into something does not seem misplaced given that she both fits the mould of uber successful female internet personalities and been embraced by a powerful internet tribe. Let’s look at each point in turn…
1. ONLINE AUDIENCES ARE OBSESSED WITH WOMEN WHO ARE BOTH ‘HOT’ AND A ‘HOT MESS’
White, blonde, thin, conventionally attractive with a DGAF attitude is a winning formula for internet fame and Welch scores high on all four.
Some of the most popular like TikTok queen Alix Earle, Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper and SiriusXM host Tinx share Welch’s quick wit, openness to tell it like it is and are unapologetically themselves. They can all get a little wild, love to party and aren’t afraid to share their messiness with their audience.
In Earle’s case, she’s built a whole brand around being “a hot mess”. It’s how she describes herself in her TikTok bio and the name of the podcast she makes for Cooper’s Unwell network.
I’m sure Welch’s management team noticed the similarities between her and the current crop of talent and it was likely a factor in why they signed her.
While I think it’s a stretch to predict that Welch will reach the heights of Earle, Cooper or Tinx, who have spent years building their fandoms, she’s got a decent shot at using her viral moment as a jump start. Then it’s down to her to capitalise on that opportunity and work hard to create a community around her personality.
SIDE NOTE: I highly doubt a woman who was not white, blonde, thin or conventionally attractive would have found themselves in such high demand after saying what Welch said, and that’s both unfair and depressing.
2. THE BRO INTERNET IS A CULTURAL FORCE
What will help Welch is that she’s already been adopted by key figures who are part of the internet that’s very noisy and has huge reach. I’m going to call it the bro internet, or as
put it in his fabulous newsletter , the Zynternet.The bro internet is heavily influenced by macho characters like Dave Portnoy and his Barstool Sports network of shows, podcasts and social media accounts. They are loud, rowdy, scoff at political correctness and are constantly seeking to provoke with their hot takes. Their vibe in one word is: fratty.
This world embraced Hawk Tuah girl from the get-go and have vocally supported her. It’s likely no coincidence that Welch chose to give her first interview to a show that’s part of the Barstool stable. That episode has since been viewed more than a 1.5 million times on YouTube and I’m sure its success will lead Barstool to cement their relationship with Welch further. It’s also not beyond the realms of possibility that they’d offer her a chance to develop her own show.
Other early fans of Welch were UFC bad boy Conor McGregor, who led the search for her, and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal who hung out with her after the Bryan gig. Welch has also caught the attention of Alex Cooper’s Unwell network, with their Instagram account liking every single post on an account purporting to be her.
The bro internet know that Welch is good for business and as a result will report on her every move going forward. They’ll act as a huge hype machine, amplifying her profile and if she plays it right Welch will be able to build a following and subsequently a career.
Few manage to turn their fleeting viral moment into a career but the convergence of Welch’s similarity to a group of already successful creators and how well she fits within the contours of the bro internet universe makes it easy for me to believe that she’s been blessed by the internet gods. My prediction is that Welch is the exception. It may have been an unholy start but I think we are going to watch her soar way further than she can spit. Good luck Hailey!
This week I’ve been…
OBSESSED WITH: The ukulele terrorist and Austin Butler’s extreme and unsettling flirting on The Bikeriders press tour
WATCHING: The heartbreaking story of Celine Dion’s ill health in I Am: Celine Dion
BUYING: The much hyped Owala FreeSip water bottle to get me through Brat summer. 10/10. Highly recommend.
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highly flammable is produced and written by Rachel Richardson.
She’s a content creator, commentator and consultant at Beginning, Middle and End.