She became an internet meme after being interviewed for a viral 2024 TikTok video in which she used a catchphrase, hawk tuah, an onomatopoeia for spitting as a form of oral sex, specifically fellatio.

[2] On June 11, 2024, a vox pop YouTube channel, Tim & Dee TV owned by Tim Dickerson and DeArius Marlow, released a video featuring an interview with Haliey Welch in the Broadway district of Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

[5][6] The next day, Marlow uploaded the clip to TikTok and almost immediately other accounts across social media began reposting the video after scrubbing off the "Tim and Dee TV" watermark.

[3] She quit her job at the bed spring factory on June 27, 2024,[9] and partnered with a local apparel brand to begin selling Hawk Tuah merchandise, earning over $65,000 within a couple of weeks.

[15][16] On August 15, she threw the ceremonial first pitch of a New York Mets game,[17] On December 11, she was featured on a comedic segment of the late-night television show Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

[18] From there, the show has featured a guest on almost every episode, including rapper and singer-songwriter Wiz Khalifa, business mogul Mark Cuban, and Dance Moms star JoJo Siwa.

In September 2024, a fake screenshot of an NPR article went viral on Twitter, claiming that former President Donald Trump had canceled a guest appearance on the podcast because of an assassination attempt in Florida.

[24] In December 2024, Welch released a cryptocurrency meme coin on Solana called $HAWK token.

[30] Welch, who was not named in the suit, responded to the litigation, saying that she "take[s] this situation extremely seriously" and pledging to be "fully cooperating with and am committed to assisting" the legal parties involved.