Social media star Haliey Welch, better known as the "Hawk Tuah Girl," has called out a scam that is using her name to make money.
Welch became an online hit when she was quizzed about her sex life by YouTubers Tim & Dee TV. The duo asked her what makes a "man go crazy" in bed, to which she replied, "you gotta give 'em that hawk tuah and spit on that thang."
Since going viral, the internet star has launched her podcast, Talk Tuah; sold merchandise; and started her very own animal foundation. She also threw out the first pitch at a New York Mets game and was even referenced in a Saturday Night Live skit.
Now she has said she "can't stop people scamming or lying using my name" after someone on X (formerly Twitter) said she is launching on CEX, a type of cryptocurrency exchange platform.
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Welch for comment on Tuesday outside of normal business hours.
X user @murtaza shared a screenshot that read: "Hawk Tuah girl is launching directly on CEX, we have over 70 KOL's/Micro KOL's including.
"Pre-Sale Post: $10.000 USDT. Post about joining the Pre-Sale + Retweet and comment on the main account's post. Haliey Welch will comment on your Pre-Sale post. Core Team."
According to this screenshot, the "Core Team" has recruited influencers, also known as Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), to promote its pre-sale. They allege that they will pay $10,000 for influencers who post about the pre-sale, retweet and comment on the main account's posts. They also claim that Welch will interact with these posts to increase visibility and build credibility for the launch.
"$10K to tweet? Brother, I'll pay @halieywelchx $1M to not launch this cancer. Please," @murtaza captioned the post.
However, Welch has been quick to flag this as fake, resharing the post and writing: "This is fake, I can't stop people scamming or lying using my name." She followed this with a heartbroken emoji and a crying face emoji.
People took to the comments of Welch's post to share their relief.
"That's good to know Haliey, I am so glad you are not launching a coin," one person wrote, with another adding: "That's so sad. Plenty of scammers out there. Ain't your problem not fault H."
While Welch might not be making money through cryptocurrency, her finances have improved since going viral, which she detailed in an op-ed for Newsweek.
"I've made money. Let's just say I don't have to eat at Taco Bell anymore. But I still do. I'm taking it day by day and I'm having a great time. But being away from my home for long periods of time sucks. Granny misses me," she wrote in September.
"I just plan to use this experience for doing good and making Belfast, Tennessee, proud," Welch wrote of her hometown.
In October, the viral star celebrated an impressive milestone after her podcast hit 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. She shared her reaction to her achievement on the podcast's official Instagram account, where she unboxed a silver-colored plaque sent from YouTube.
"Just getting started ‼️" she captioned the post.
In the clip, Welch can be seen opening the box and taking out the plaque saying "Oh s***." When the social media star was told what it was, she responded: "How do I get the gold one?"
An unseen person off-camera replied: "That's when you get to 1 million," to which Welch promised: "We'll get there at some point."
At the time of writing, her podcast has 187,000 subscribers on the video platform.
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