In a much-anticipated return, viral personality Haliey Welch, globally celebrated as the “Hawk Tuah Girl,” has made a comeback to the podcast world this week. Her Talk Tuah podcast, which had gone quiet since December 2024, has been revived, creating a buzz among her fanbase.
Notorious for her engaging podcast content, Welch had been maintaining a low profile following the tumultuous launch and subsequent downfall of a meme token that bore her nickname. The Solana-based token HAWK, which she had enthusiastically promoted, skyrocketed to a staggering $490 million market cap, only to nosedive by an astounding 93% in a matter of minutes during its December launch.
The aftermath of the token collapse incited widespread criticism, prompting Welch to momentarily deactivate her social media accounts. A podcast episode that surfaced in February was swiftly deleted, adding to her prolonged absence from the public eye.
The first episode since her hiatus featured popular YouTuber KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olayinka Williams Olatunji. Like Welch, Olatunji is no stranger to the tumultuous world of crypto controversies. During their exchange, neither of them directly addressed their respective crypto debacles, yet they acknowledged their challenging journeys in the public sphere.
Olatunji candidly shared, “I’ve been here for so long I’ve had my ups and my downs and my dooooooowns,” adding, “You’ve just got to roll with the punches and just stay consistent… In this [influencer] industry, people are going to use and abuse you.”
To this, Welch resonated, “I found that out the hard way.”
Olatunji went on to assert that there will always be critics, dismissing them as mere “noise.” This was in reference to accusations from 2021 that he had allegedly pushed crypto projects like XCAD Network and Ethernity Chain to his followers, only to purportedly dump tokens soon after. Olatunji has repeatedly denied these allegations.
Concurrently, Welch is still grappling with the aftermath of her crypto debacle. Despite her public admission of complying with a civil lawsuit aimed at the creators of the coin, it was recently disclosed that she had been under the scrutiny of the Securities and Exchange Commission. This investigation, however, has since been closed.
Nevertheless, the controversy surrounding the HAWK token persists. The ongoing civil lawsuit targets crypto launchpad overHERE, its founder Clinton So, influencer Alex “Doc Hollywood” Schultz, and the Tuah the Moon Foundation. Interestingly, Welch has not been named as a defendant in the case.
Both Welch and Olatunji have been reached out to for their comments on the matter.
The article was edited by Sebastian Sinclair.
