Hailey Welch, better known online as the viral “Hawk Tuah Girl”, has broken her silence after an X-rated comment in a short video clip led to online infamy. The 21-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, spoke on the Plan Bri Uncut podcast on Monday, weeks after the clip went viral on YouTube and TikTok. In the short video, Welch is approached by a camera and a microphone and uses the phrase “hawk tuah” to describe a sexual act.
Welch confirmed she’d been drinking with friends when she made the lewd comment but that it was intended as a joke and she “didn’t mean anything by it”. She also said her parents weren’t fazed by the video. “They think it’s so funny ... they never know what’s gonna come out of my mouth.” Before Welch spoke on the podcast, rumours circulated about her identity and her life, including that she was a schoolteacher who was sacked when the clip surfaced and that her dad was a pastor.