Haliey Welch, the internet sensation behind the viral “hawk tuah” YouTube moment, is the focus of an upcoming documentary produced by Bungalow Media + Entertainment. The film will explore Welch’s rise to fame, her time in the public eye, and the cryptocurrency scandal that followed.
Welch first gained public attention in June 2024 after being interviewed on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, by the social media duo TimmandDeeTV. Her now-infamous “hawk tuah” phrase spread across social media, turning Welch into an overnight sensation.
She used her newfound popularity to launch her merchandise line, collaborated on a Halloween costume inspired by her viral moment, and even started a podcast dubbed “Talk Tuah.” However, her involvement, direct or indirect, with a crypto project turned all the fame into spite across all social media platforms.
Welch had disappeared from the public eye since the end of 2024, with little activity on social media. The documentary will become her first major public engagement since then.
The $HAWK token collapse
Welch’s “fifteen minutes of fame” crumbled when she became associated with the cryptocurrency $HAWK. The token launched on December 4, 2024, and saw an exponential rise, reaching a $490 million market cap. Within minutes, however, the token’s value plummeted by over 90%, wiping out millions in investor funds.
Blockchain analysis firm Bubblemaps revealed that 285 wallets had acquired 96% of the token’s supply during its presale and early distribution. Many of these wallets quickly dumped their holdings, leading to the token’s collapse.
The pattern resembled a rug-pull crypto scam, where insiders sell off assets at inflated prices, leaving retail investors with losses.
In response to the backlash, Welch’s team claimed she did not sell her share of the tokens and that no influencers received free tokens as part of the launch. Still, investors who lost money have filed lawsuits against those involved in the token’s creation and promotion.
The legal action names several parties, including web3 launchpad OverHere, its founder Clinton So, the Tuah the Moon Foundation, and social media influencer Alex Larson Schultz, better known as “Doc Hollywood.” Welch herself was not named in the lawsuit.
OverHere, the platform that facilitated the launch of $HAWK, released a statement admitting they made missteps in the project.
“We believed in that vision so much that [we] pushed harder and harder, perhaps through rose-tinted glasses and naivety about others’ intentions, even as the project began to unravel,” the company stated.
It also accused Schultz of having excessive control over the project, stating that he “controlled all decisions, fees, treasury” and imposed a 15% trading fee while remaining silent during the market collapse.
Disappearance and leaked podcast episode
After the fallout from the crypto scandal, Welch scaled back her public presence. The only indication of her reaction came in early February when a leaked episode of her podcast surfaced online.
In the show, Welch broke down in tears while talking about what happened with Banks, the founder of FaZe Clan and a YouTuber, who tried to comfort her. The show was quickly deleted, though, which caused a stir on social media because it was gone so quickly. After that, on February 6, Banks wrote a message on X asking Welch’s team how the show got out without his permission.
So in an attempt to hear Haliey Welch’s side of the Crypto scam story, I agreed to do her first podcast back.
I had heavy stipulations including;
1) Not allowing markets to be manipulated by leaking this episodes existence before a resolution was found.
The infamous Tennesse girl resurfaced on March 25 with a comedic Instagram skit addressing the numerous rumors about her disappearance. The clip features Welch asleep, appearing to have nightmares about the various claims circulating online that claimed she was pregnant, dead, or in prison.
At the end of the video, a friend wakes her up and says, “Hey, get your ass up. We got stuff to do.”
Welch has not directly addressed the $HAWK controversy in detail, but her participation in the upcoming documentary may give the crypto community more insights into her experience. Bungalow Media + Entertainment is yet to announce a release date for the project.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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