‘Pathetic’, ‘disgusting’: Fans react as ‘Hawk Tuah Girl’ throws first pitch at New York Mets game

Haliey Welch, famously generally known as the “Hawk Tuah Lady,” was the particular visitor of the New York Mets on Thursday, the place she threw out the ceremonial first pitch earlier than their sport towards the Oakland Athletics. Welch, a Tennessee native, gained web fame for her viral response to a query about what transfer within the bed room makes a man go “loopy.”
Her now-infamous reply, delivered through the Nation Music Awards weekend in Nashville, was: “Awh, you gotta hawk … tuah, spit on that thang — you get me?” The clip shortly unfold throughout TikTok and different platforms, thrusting the 21-year-old into the highlight.
Initially sustaining a low profile, Welch has begun to embrace her newfound fame. Final month, she reportedly earned $30,000 for an look at a pool membership in South Florida, the place she fittingly wore a Tua Tagovailoa shirsey.
Welch on Thursday took her skills to the baseball area, throwing the primary pitch on the Mets sport. Her presence, nonetheless, was met with blended reactions, significantly given the youthful viewers in attendance.
“So the Mets determined to get the Hawk Tuah Lady to throw out the first pitch for a summer season ‘camp day’ day sport the place the overwhelming majority of followers are 11-year-old children on the ballpark on camp journeys. Critically what have been they pondering? Be higher than this,” one person commented on X.

“What an terrible, terrible determination to legitimize her and provides her a platform,” one other person criticized, with others labeling the choice as “pathetic” and “disgusting.”

In response to the backlash, Welch took to social media to elucidate the true goal of her look. Sharing a video of a service canine named Buddy taking part in on the sector, she revealed her intention to help America’s VetDogs, a charity that pairs service canines with conflict veterans. “So I suppose a number of the baseball group wasn’t too comfortable to see me yesterday. The principle motive I went to the sport was to unfold consciousness and donate to America’s VetDogs which pairs canines with conflict veterans for a without end house. Be part of me in donating to this wonderful charity,” Welch wrote.

In the meantime, supporters got here to Welch’s protection, noting that she didn’t select to go viral and has used her platform for charitable donations.
Regardless of Welch’s look, the Mets suffered a disappointing loss, squandering a 5-0 result in the A’s and shedding 7-6 within the longest nine-inning sport of the pitch-timer period, clocking in at 3 hours and 45 minutes. The defeat has led some to take a position that Welch might have “cursed” the 2024 Mets, marking what might be their worst lack of the season.