Hailey Welch, known as the “Hawk Tuah girl,” recently spoke about the fallout from the failed launch of the “HAWK” memecoin in 2024, which she promoted. 

Despite cooperating fully with an FBI investigation that cleared her of wrongdoing, Welch faced immense social backlash and personal distress following the memecoin’s collapse.

In December 2024, the HAWK memecoin launched with great fanfare, quickly surging to a market capitalization of over $490 million. However, within hours, the coin’s value dropped sharply, losing over 90% of its value. By the following day, the market cap had fallen to about $41 million. The event was widely described as a rug pull, where investors were left with significant losses.

Welch, who had publicly promoted the token, said that she was unaware of the technical details behind the launch and had no control over the funds. She added that the financial losses for investors were relatively small, estimating the total at around $200,000. However, the social and emotional toll was much greater.

Death threats and mental health struggles

Following the HAWK memecoin’s collapse, Welch received death threats and experienced heightened public scrutiny. 

“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,’” Welch explained. 

She admitted that the backlash took a significant toll on her mental health, causing her to retreat from social media and try to maintain a low profile for months.

Welch’s lawyer emphasized that she had fully cooperated with the FBI investigation, which ultimately found no evidence of fraud or intentional wrongdoing on her part. Despite this, the public backlash continued, with many in the crypto community blaming her for promoting the memecoin.

Legal action and public reactions

After the HAWK memecoin’s collapse, an investor lawsuit was filed against the team behind the launch. The lawsuit accused the entities of selling unregistered securities, but Welch was not named as a defendant. The legal action pointed to the alleged mismanagement and fraudulent nature of the memecoin’s promotion.

Despite Welch’s claims of being a victim of the situation, not all observers were sympathetic. Onchain investigator ZachXBT criticized her involvement in the project, stating, 

“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.”