Haliey Welch, widely known as the “Hawk Tuah” girl, made her first media appearance after nearly two months of silence following the launch of the HAWK memecoin and the subsequent crash of the token’s price.
In an interview conducted with podcaster FaZe Banks, Welch claimed the project manager for the memecoin told her the token would have a long-term time horizon and would be positive for the crypto space.
Welch said she initially did not want to launch the memecoin and was unfamiliar with the asset sector but did so because she was told half the money from the token would go to her charity. Welch said:
“It was brought to me in a positive way — it was going to be something good and long-term, but it didn’t go that route at all, so it was like a smack in the face.”
Welch’s attorney, Christian Barker, also said the development team and account managers misled Welch about the tokenomics of the project, with the developer still controlling 80% of the token’s supply.
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Hawk Tuah token crashes; lawsuit hits the token team
The Hawk Tuah token launched on Dec. 4, 2024, and surged to a market capitalization of over $490 million in a matter of hours.
However, the token’s market capitalization collapsed by over 91% the following day to roughly $41 million — sparking a backlash against Welch and the team behind the memecoin.
On Dec. 19, investors filed a lawsuit against several entities allegedly involved in the marketing of the Hawk Tuah token.
“The pre-launch marketing for HAWK framed the Token as more than a speculative asset, portraying it as a cultural movement with significant growth potential,” the legal filing read.
Welch addressed her followers on social media the following day. In a Dec. 20 X post, she said that she was fully cooperating with the legal team representing victims impacted by the memecoin’s collapse.
The viral social media star also directed affected individuals to Burwick Law, the law firm handling the investor lawsuit against the HAWK token promoters.
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