Imagine becoming an overnight sensation from a single cheeky comment in an interview. That’s exactly what happened to Hailey Welch, better known now as the Hawk Tuah woman, when she unexpectedly shot to viral fame.
Last month, when asked by an interviewer about what move drives men wild, Hailey candidly replied, “You gotta’ give him that hawk tuah and spit on that thing.” Just like that, the Hawk Tuah sensation was born.
“This is how the Hawk Tauh was born.”
Her life-changing moment has been viewed over five million times on Tim & Dee TV, catapulting her to the status of a national icon.
Now 23, Hailey is enjoying the spotlight, though she admits there’s one thing that truly terrifies her about her newfound recognition.
On a recent episode of KIIS FM’s The Kyle and Jackie O show, Hailey shared her biggest fear: “I’m paranoid of getting kidnapped or something. I’m very paranoid about that. And I’m little too, so I can’t really defend myself with big … or nothing like that.”
With her face now widely recognized, Hailey recalled a strange encounter at Walmart, giving us a glimpse of her new reality.
“I had a guy come up to me in Walmart a few weeks ago, and he was like, ‘I know you’. And I said, ‘No you don’t’, and he like, ‘Yeah I do, I know you.’”
During the interview, Hawk Tuah humorously reflected on needing security: “I mean, I saw you at that event and you had five bodyguards surrounding you,” said the host. “Yeah – I needed them.”
Adjusting to fame has also meant having some tricky conversations with her family, particularly explaining the viral term ‘hawk tuah’ to her grandparents.
Hailey recounted the challenge: “I had to explain it to her three times before she got it.”
No doubt, a conversation fraught with embarrassment and giggles!
As for the financial perks of viral fame, Hailey’s agent, Jonnie Forster of The Penthouse management, spilled the beans in a chat with the Hollywood Reporter about the impressive earnings from her official merchandise.
Jonnie revealed, “It’s approaching $300,000. Right when we signed her, I was on the phone with a trademark attorney immediately and said, ‘Go after everyone who’s filed trademarks on this, and cease-and-desist with those.'”
He also shared insights into their strategy amidst the whirlwind: “And we had to start building her social media presence: ‘We can’t stop this volcano, so what do you want to do?’
“She’s very interested in using this new platform for the betterment of a lot of different things, not just trying to monetize.
“She lives with her grandma, and she’s not leaving her grandma. She’s making sure she’s not doing anything that’s going to embarrass her hometown.”