If TikTok is the internet’s chaotic party, then Hawk Tuah is the unexpected guest who showed up, took over the dance floor, and left everyone confused but entertained. For the uninitiated, “Hawk Tuah” is the phrase that Hailey Welch, now famously known as the Hawk Tuah Girl, dropped during an interview that set the internet ablaze. But the real question is, how did this bizarre moment of spitting advice spread like wildfire? The answer, of course, lies in TikTok.
TikTok has become the ultimate breeding ground for viral moments. With its short-form, hyper-consumable content, the platform is like a factory that churns out trends faster than you can say “algorithm.” The Hawk Tuah saga is no exception.
The Origin Story: A Moment Made for TikTok
The now-iconic phrase was born when Hailey Welch, a 21-year-old from Tennessee, was stopped during a street interview in Nashville. When asked about a “move in bed that makes a man go crazy,” she gave the world a gift no one saw coming: “You gotta give him that hawk tuah and spit on that thang.”
The moment was as raw as it gets—unrehearsed, unexpected, and dripping with Southern sass. That alone could’ve made it a hit, but what really made Hawk Tuah skyrocket was TikTok’s ability to spread content like a digital wildfire.
The Algorithm: TikTok’s Secret Sauce
It’s no secret that TikTok’s algorithm is one of the most powerful tools in the world of viral content. With its infamous For You page, TikTok takes any piece of content and blasts it in front of millions of users based on their interests, previous likes, and video completion rates. If a video keeps people engaged until the end, the algorithm rewards it with more visibility, leading to a domino effect.
In Hailey Welch’s case, the Hawk Tuah clip was the perfect storm. It’s short, it’s weirdly memorable, and it has a certain shock value that made people watch it again and again—exactly what the algorithm loves.
According to statistics from Know Your Meme, the original video racked up over 8 million views on Instagram within days and continued to trend across TikTok, accumulating millions more.
TikTok users quickly took the sound bite and ran with it. From parody videos to remixes, people couldn’t get enough of the Hawk Tuah moment. TikTok thrives on user-generated content, and when users began layering their own creativity on top of Hailey’s original clip, it turned a viral video into a cultural trend.
Memes, Remixes, and Everything in Between
One thing TikTok does better than any other platform is remixing. The Hawk Tuah sound was no exception. Users began taking Hailey’s spit advice and turning it into songs, green-screen memes, and even instructional parody videos. The ridiculousness of the original statement gave creators endless material to work with.
The Hawk Tuah audio was added to videos ranging from people fake-spitting in various funny scenarios to high-energy dance routines where the beat drops right after Hailey says her famous line. This made the trend even more shareable, as TikTok thrives on layers of participation.
TikTok: The Kingmaker of Modern Internet Fame
It’s no accident that TikTok has launched the careers of internet stars like Addison Rae, Charli D’Amelio, and yes, Hailey Welch. The platform has the uncanny ability to elevate random people into overnight sensations. Hailey’s story follows the typical arc of modern TikTok fame: a viral moment, a deluge of memes, and an avalanche of followers that lead to real-world opportunities.
Within weeks of her clip going viral, Hailey Welch had quit her job at a factory and signed with a talent agency. She even launched a line of Hawk Tuah merchandise, selling everything from T-shirts to hats with the now-legendary phrase.
But this is the beauty (and weirdness) of TikTok. It takes moments that are random, often absurd, and catapults them into the digital stratosphere. As Hailey herself said in a recent interview, “I said something silly, and now my life has changed”. That’s the power of TikTok—changing lives with 10-second clips.
TikTok’s Cultural Influence: Why We Love Viral Moments Like Hawk Tuah
Now, let’s be honest—part of the reason Hawk Tuah blew up is that people love nonsense. The internet has become an endless supply of viral moments, but the ones that stick are the ones that leave you scratching your head, wondering, “What did I just watch?”
TikTok thrives on these absurd, out-of-context snippets. The app is designed to keep you scrolling, and when something as bizarre as Hawk Tuah shows up on your feed, it’s impossible to ignore. People love things they don’t fully understand, and Hawk Tuah is a perfect example. It’s the kind of viral moment that exists simply because it’s too strange not to go viral.
According to viral culture expert Joseph Hudak, TikTok’s success comes from “a deep craving for randomness in a world that’s often too structured”. The platform gives users permission to embrace the weird, the unexpected, and the downright nonsensical. And really, isn’t that why we’re all addicted to it?
TikTok and the Birth of Modern Fame
There’s no denying TikTok’s role in making Hawk Tuah a viral sensation. The platform’s algorithm, combined with its remix culture and love for the bizarre, took Hailey Welch’s off-the-cuff moment and turned it into an internet legend. From memes to merchandise, Hawk Tuah is a prime example of TikTok’s ability to create modern fame out of thin air.
And let’s be real—without TikTok, Hawk Tuah would’ve likely been a one-off joke, forgotten in the sea of daily internet nonsense. But with the power of TikTok, it’s a trend that has legs (and probably some merch sales to boot).
