“Hawk Tuah Girl” shares text message evidence amid Yung Gravy drama “Savage”
Haliey Welch, also known as “Hawk Tuah Girl,” has revealed more information about the private messages she exchanged with rapper Yung Gravy, hours after he posted screenshots of their conversation.
Welch became a viral sensation in July after she was stopped by podcasters Tim and Dee during a night out in Nashville, Tennessee. When asked, “What move in bed drives a guy crazy every time?” Welch replied, “You have to give them that ‘Hawk Tuah’ and spit on the thing.”
“Hawk tuah” is the sound someone makes when spitting.
The 22-year-old from Belfast, Tennessee, has since made several public appearances, including judging a bikini competition in Florida – for which she reportedly received $30,000 – and attending the Rock the South festival in Alabama.
TMZ spoke to Welch about her rise to fame and asked which celebrities had sent her direct messages since then. Welch responded that she had been contacted by musician Yung Gravy, 28.
When asked by her interviewer if Yung Gravy – whose real name is Matthew Raymond Hauri – was trying to “get together with her,” Welch said of the star: “He wants to ask me out. I was like, ‘Nah, I don’t know about that.'”
On Monday, Yung Gravy responded to a report on the matter by sharing a screenshot of their private Instagram conversation on X (formerly Twitter), adding in his caption that people “can’t be nice anymore lol (laugh out loud).”
The screenshot shows Welch texting “Hello sir” to Yung Gravy at 1:44 a.m. on July 31. He responded several hours later at 11:53 a.m. to congratulate her on her rise to fame and invite her to one of his shows.
“Damn I just checked out (your) page, (you) really do this shit here lol congratulations buddy,” the rapper wrote, adding, “When I found (your) page I (really) just wanted to congratulate (you) for being a certified top champion.”
He continued, “Oh, and it’s not me trying to trick you, because I don’t know your husband’s situation.
According to the screenshot, Welch asked Yung Gravy when the show would be, to which he replied that she could pick “any” of the dates while sharing an image with a list of his shows.
Shortly after Yung Gravy’s post gained popularity, Welch shared her own screenshots showing the rapper starting the conversation with “Hello maam” at 10:38 p.m. on July 29.
While the majority of the screenshot shows the conversation as depicted in Yung Gravy’s post, Welch’s version showed that after telling her she could “pick” a date for her show, the “Betty” singer asked her where she would be “stationed in August.”
According to the post, he also sent her a Spotify link and wrote, “There’s some country sauce for you.”
“It’s almost all over,” Welch captioned the screenshots.
One X user commented that Welch was “brutal when he showed them receipts,” to which the internet star responded that it was “only because he did it first.”
A number of other X users debated whether the screenshots provided evidence that Yung Gravy had asked Welch out on a date. Another wrote to Welch that there was “no reason to argue, Gravy is a good guy you should get to know him.”
“No argument, just fun,” Welch said in response.
Newsweek has contacted representatives for Welch and Yung Gravy for comment.
Yung Gravy also released a video interview with TMZ in which he admitted to starting a direct message conversation with Welch on social media.
“I sent her direct messages,” he said. “I wanted to show her some love. I saw people hating on her and being insanely negative. She just talks about sex and does it right. That’s what I do and nobody is mad about it.”
“I think I invited her to a show,” Yung Gravy added. “I don’t think I mentioned a date.”
When asked why Welch said she wasn’t going out with him, Yung Gravy replied, “Oh, I didn’t even ask her out.”
In addition to her paid public appearances, Welch is said to have also filed trademarks for “Hawk Tuah Sauce” and “Bet on That Thang” – the name of a planned sports betting service – according to TMZ.
She has also hired a lawyer and a manager and set up an Instagram account (@hay_welch), which already has over 2 million followers.
The internet star is resisting requests to open an OnlyFans account. In an Instagram video on July 3, Welch made it clear that she would “never” open one.
“Stop asking me for the link in my bio for my OnlyFans,” she said. “I don’t have an OnlyFans and there will never be an OnlyFans. I just make funny jokes, that’s all I do.”