A story that wouldn’t have made sense a year ago. Hawk Tuah Girl, aka Hailey Welch, has become a pseudo-celebrity thanks to a viral TikTok interview. In the months since, she’s skyrocketed, showing up at country shows and booking podcast appearances with big-name brands. Yung Gravy is one of the people who’s noticed. Welch (we’re not calling her Hawk Tuah for the duration of this article) claimed the rapper slid into her direct messages, but she rebuffed him. Now, however, the Gravy Train is bringing its side of the story to light.

Yung Gravy took to social media on August 19 to set the record straight. He reposted the article with Welch’s comments, writing, “Can’t be more cute lol.” The rapper then posted a screenshot of the DM conversation in question. Yung Gravy gave Welch credit for becoming a sensation and invited her to an upcoming concert. “Oh, and this isn’t just me trying to rip me off because I don’t know your man situation,” he explained. “But I wanted to have you at a show next month so you could hear my country sh*t.” Welch asked when the concert was, and Yung Grizzle posted a link to his tour.

The screenshot doesn’t show anything else from the conversation. However, based on what we see, Yung Gravy has made it clear that he wasn’t trying to take his chance. And it doesn’t seem like Welch definitely told him off, either. “I was just like, nah, I don’t know about that…” Welch originally claimed. Yung Gravy seems to have won the internet’s favor with this exchange. A community note was added to the original Welch quote, giving the rapper’s perspective. “Yung Gravy denies this,” the note reads. “He claims he only invited her to a concert.”

This isn’t the first time Yung Gravy has been linked to a viral celebrity. The rapper attended the 2023 Video Music Awards with Sheri Easterling, the mother of TikToker Addison Rae. The couple shocked many online, but Gravy denied the “stunt date” allegations. In fact, he said E! Canada that he still keeps in touch with Easterling. “We still keep in touch,” he noted. “It wouldn’t make sense for us to date because we live in different cities, but we keep in touch. Every show I have in Louisiana, she’s there.”