Shaq offers career advice to 'Hawk Tuah' girl after sudden rise to fame: report

Hailey Welch went viral for sexual remark she made in interview

Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and Hailey Welch, the woman known on social media as the "Hawk Tuah" girl, were seen together last weekend at a separate event.

O’Neal posted photos of himself with the 22-year-old on his DJ Diesel account on X while the two were in Nashville, Tennessee. The photos took the internet by storm, but apparently the former Los Angeles Lakers superstar had some good advice for the young woman new to viral fame.

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Shaq at the NBA Finals

Shaquille O'Neal offered some career advice to the "Hawk Tuah" girl. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images/File)

The four-time NBA champion told Welch to keep a "smart team" around her to combat those trying to take advantage of her sudden rise to fame and ignore the hateful comments she’s received on her videos, sources told TMZ Sports.

Welch recently broke her silence about her fame on Barstool Sports’ podcast "Plan Bri Uncut" with Briana LaPaglia. She dispelled some of the rumors about her, including that she was a teacher and that she got fired over her viral remarks.

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In a separate video posted to her personal social media account, Welch said there would be no OnlyFans in her future.

"Stop asking me about the link in bio for my OnlyFans," she said on Instagram. "I don’t have an OnlyFans and there’ll never be an OnlyFans. I just make funny jokes, that’s all I do."

Shaq in May 2024

Shaquille O'Neal (Jamie Schwaberow/NBAE via Getty Images/File)

Welch has been seen cashing in on some merchandise based off of the sexual innuendo she made in a man-on-the-street interview she did.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

Authored by Ryan Gaydos via FoxNews July 4th 2024