Hailey Welch, the online social media influencer, popularly known as the “Hawk Tuah girl,” said that the implosion of the “HAWK” memecoin, which she promoted in 2024, and the ensuing social backlash “traumatized” her.
“I got talked into doing something that I didn’t know anything about, really, but you’ve got to be really careful what you put your name on,” Welsh told Andrew Callaghan of the Channel 5 YouTube channel on Friday.
Welsh said she fully cooperated with a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe in 2025, which cleared her of any wrongdoing, and that she did not possess any of the funds from the memecoin launch, nor did she have the technical expertise to launch the coin.
She added that the total amount lost by “real people” in the botched memecoin release was not significant, with her lawyer estimating the total dollar amount lost by retail investors at about $200,000.
Despite this, Welsh said she received death threats and attempted to keep a low profile for months after the incident, which took a toll on her mental health. She said:
“I was starting to get death threats and everything else. People telling me I owe them all this money, and I’m like, ‘I didn’t do this.’ I’m sitting here, and I’m the one getting hit for this. It’s rough. It’s one of those things where if you come out of the house, you put your head down.”
However, not everyone was convinced by Welsh’s comments. “No one should feel bad for the ‘trauma,’” onchain sleuth ZachXBT said.
“She starts posting about meme coins. The entirety of [crypto Twitter] tells her ‘do not launch a token.’ She launches a memecoin anyway, and after, she blames partners and disappears off social media, with followers losing funds,” he added.
Related: Japan PM Takaichi disavows ‘Sanae Token’ after memecoin hits $28M peak
The HAWK memecoin crashes and burns shortly after arrival
The HAWK memecoin launched in December 2024 and surged to a market capitalization of over $490 million mere hours after going live.
Hawk collapsed by over 91% the following day, falling to a market cap of about $41 million, and was widely characterized as a rug pull.
In December 2024, an investor lawsuit was filed against the team and entities that created and managed the memecoin launch, but not Welsh, alleging that the entities sold unregistered securities.
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