2 hawk, 2 furious: the talk tuah era

Summary

Podcast Summary: Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) - Episode 2: "hawk, 2 furious: the talk tuah era"

Host: Jamie Loftus
Produced by: Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts
Release Date: January 28, 2025

---

I. Introduction

In the second episode of Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) titled "hawk, 2 furious: the talk tuah era," host Jamie Loftus delves deep into the meteoric rise and subsequent tumultuous journey of Hayley Welch, infamously known as "the Hawk." This episode serves as a comprehensive examination of Hayley's sudden internet fame, her personal background, the role of her management team, and the broader implications of virality in the digital age.

---

II. Hayley Welch’s Background and Path to Fame

Hayley Welch, raised by her grandmother in the small town of Belfast, Tennessee—a predominantly working-class, farmland community with limited educational and job opportunities—emerges as a central figure in today's digital narrative.

Key Points:

• Early Life: Hayley spent most of her childhood under the care of her grandmother due to her mother's ongoing struggle with addiction and her father's sporadic presence. This upbringing in a close-knit yet challenging environment shaped much of her resilience and humor.
• Education and Work: A high school graduate and former cheerleader, Hayley worked diligently at Tennessee Spring and Metal, balancing demanding work hours with her personal life.
• Memorabilia: Her tattoo, "Still I Rise," reflects her journey of overcoming adversities, referencing Maya Angelou's inspirational work.

Notable Quote:

Hayley Welch (04:23): "Yeah, I'm a crack baby. Why you think I'm so funny?"

This candid self-deprecation highlights Hayley's ability to use humor as a coping mechanism, endearing her to her growing fanbase.

---

III. The Sudden Surge to Fame and Management’s Role

Hayley's viral moment originated from a clip posted on June 11, 2024, which quickly spiraled beyond her control. The video’s unexpected popularity led to intense online scrutiny and misinterpretation of her persona.

Key Points:

• Viral Clip: The initial video captured Hayley’s authentic Southern charm, which resonated with audiences but also attracted unwanted attention and false narratives.
• Public Reaction: As Hayley's fame exploded, she faced a barrage of misinformation, including incorrect assumptions about her identity and personal life.
• Management’s Intervention: To navigate the chaos, Hayley enlisted a management team focused on protecting her image and capitalizing on her newfound popularity. This team orchestrated appearances and partnerships aimed at legitimizing her presence in mainstream media.

Notable Quotes:

Hayley Welch (06:32): "I've been gone from it."
Jamie Loftus (22:12): "Hello and welcome back to Talk to..."

Hayley's initial reluctance to engage with social media platforms underscored her desire for authenticity—a trait that management sought to balance with strategic promotion.

---

IV. Politicization and Public Perception

As Hayley's fame grew, so did the politicization surrounding her image. Her interactions with conservative figures and inadvertent entanglements in political discourse complicated her public persona.

Key Points:

• Interviews and Public Statements: During interviews, Hayley faced invasive questions that inadvertently politicized her image, such as being asked if she would perform a sexual act on President Trump.
• Media Reactions: Prominent figures like Laura Loomer and Mark Cuban weighed in, reflecting the polarized reception of Hayley's rising fame.
• Public Backlash: The episode details how Hayley’s image oscillated between endearment and ridicule as she became a focal point in politically charged online discussions.

Notable Quotes:

Hayley Welch (08:10): "I don't want to be known as that."
Mark Cuban (31:28): "You have to be smart and fucking enjoy yourself."

Hayley's attempts to depoliticize her image were often overshadowed by the relentless scrutiny of online communities, highlighting the challenges of maintaining personal integrity amidst viral fame.

---

V. Launch and Development of the Podcast 'Talk to A'

In an effort to reclaim her narrative, Hayley launched her own podcast, Talk to A, aiming to blend her comedic talents with engaging discussions. However, the podcast quickly became entangled with commercial endorsements and controversial content.

Key Points:

• Podcast Concept: Intended to showcase Hayley’s Southern charm through interviews and lively discussions, the podcast frequently interrupted conversations with advertisements for sports betting and crypto platforms.
• Content and Guests: Early episodes featured a mix of mainstream and niche guests, including comedians like Whitney Cummings and controversial figures like Jake Paul.
• Commercial Integrations: The podcast heavily integrated endorsements, often shifting the tone from genuine conversation to promotional segments, diluting the intended authenticity.

Notable Quotes:

Hayley Welch (26:06): "I love hot dogs. I do. I love hot dogs."
Jamie Loftus (57:34): "But like, so that's something that is such a breath of fresh air about you."

These interruptions underscored the tension between creative content and monetization strategies, a recurring theme in Hayley’s podcast journey.

---

VI. Social Media Strategies and Additional Projects

Hayley’s management orchestrated an aggressive social media strategy to solidify her online presence, which included branching into philanthropic endeavors and tech ventures.

Key Points:

• Paws Across America: Launched as a nonprofit aimed at supporting animal charities, this initiative was presented as Hayley’s genuine attempt to give back. However, questions about the transparency and impact of the charity persisted.
• Pookie Tools: An app marketed as a dating platform but primarily functioning as an AI tool, received mixed reviews and skepticism regarding its utility and intentions.
• Crypto Engagements: Hayley entered the crypto space, aligning herself with influencers and platforms known for their controversial reputations, further complicating her public image.

Notable Quotes:

Hayley Welch (40:19): "Today I'm happy to announce the launch of my Paws Across America Fund."
Jamie Loftus (38:46): "It's me bitch. What do you fucking mean anytime?"

Hayley’s ventures into nonprofit work and crypto were met with both support and criticism, reflecting the precarious balance of navigating internet fame.

---

VII. Connections with Influencers and the Paul Brothers

A significant aspect of Hayley’s rise involved her association with prominent internet personalities, particularly the Paul brothers—Jake and Logan Paul.

Key Points:

• Strategic Partnerships: Aligning with the Paul brothers provided Hayley with valuable connections and exposure within influential online communities.
• Content Collaborations: Appearances alongside figures like Mark Cuban and involvement in high-profile events, such as the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match, were instrumental in maintaining her relevance.
• Management’s Role: Her management’s decision to associate with these influencers aimed to capitalize on their established fanbases, although it often led to further politicization and controversy.

Notable Quotes:

Grant (51:37): "I was just in an accident."
Jamie Loftus (56:36): "What more interesting than the actual content of the podcast..."

These alliances underscored the transactional nature of internet fame, where associations with established figures were crucial for sustained visibility.

---

VIII. Decline and Potential End of Career

Despite her initial successes, Hayley’s foray into niche markets like crypto and sports betting ads, combined with management missteps, contributed to the rapid decline of her podcast and public image.

Key Points:

• Meme Coin Launch: Hayley’s attempt to venture into meme coins culminated in the release of her own cryptocurrency, which failed spectacularly, leading to legal and financial repercussions.
• Podcast Deterioration: The quality and authenticity of Talk to A waned as commercial interruptions became more intrusive, alienating her audience.
• Cyber Scandals: Ongoing associations with dubious figures and platforms tarnished her reputation, leading to a potential career-ending fallout.

Notable Quotes:

Grant (64:40): "This app has absolutely ruined my life."
Jamie Loftus (65:40): "Now a crypto scam can emerge."

The episode concludes with the anticipation of Hayley’s career collapse, serving as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of fleeting internet fame and the perils of mismanaged public relations.

---

IX. Conclusion

Episode 2 of Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) offers a detailed exploration of Hayley Welch’s journey through the volatile landscape of internet fame. From her humble beginnings in Tennessee to her rapid ascent as "the Hawk," and subsequent struggles with politicization and mismanaged endorsements, Hayley’s story illuminates the challenges faced by viral personalities in maintaining authenticity and navigating the treacherous waters of digital notoriety. Jamie Loftus effectively captures both the allure and the dangers of fleeting fame, providing listeners with a nuanced understanding of what it means to exist in the ephemeral realm of the internet’s spotlight.

---

Notable Quotes Throughout the Episode:

• Hayley Welch (04:19): "How's your mom?"
• Brianna LaPaglia (04:27): "Is she an actual crackhead?"
• Hayley Welch (07:03): "Oh no way that just happened."
• Jamie Loftus (09:35): "Pookie is Haley's on again, off again boyfriend."
• Hayley Welch (10:40): "I love her personality and the fact that the world gets to see it..."
• Hayley Welch (26:27): "That is like the most sexual thing you can say by accident."
• Mark Cuban (31:28): "Have to trade on what you're already known for."

These quotes encapsulate the candid, often humorous, and sometimes contentious nature of Hayley’s interactions and the broader themes discussed in the episode.

---

Note: This summary excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to focus solely on the substantive discussions and narratives presented in the episode.

Transcript

[Discover Representative]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now it pays to Discover. Learn [e-mail] credit card based on the February 2024 Nilsson report.

[Grant]

I'm Grant and I'm your new Bachelor. ABC Mondays.

[Jamie Loftus]

Is this real? Is he real?

[Grant]

The Bachelor is back and the ladies are head over heels.

[Jamie Loftus]

Tall, handsome, smart. He's perfect.

[Grant]

It's an all new season of romance. I'm 110% ready to fall in love. My love story is going to happen. And of course drama.

[Jamie Loftus]

These other girls are dating my boyfriend. You act like you don't care. He knows how I feel.

[Grant]

I did not know how hard this.

[Jamie Loftus]

Was going to be.

[Grant]

The Bachelor Mondays, 87 Central on AB and stream on Hulu.

[Jamie Loftus]

Where'd you get those shoes? Easy. They're from dsw. Because DSW has the exact right shoes for whatever you're into right now. You know, like the sneakers that make office hours feel like happy hour, the boots that turn grocery aisles into runways, and all the styles that show off the many sides of you from daydreamer to multitasker and everything in between. Because you do it all in really great shoes. Find a shoe for every you at your DSW store or dsw.com@ameca insurance.

[Grant]

We know it's more than just a car. It's the two door coupe that was there for your first drive, the hatchback that took you cross country and back, and the minivan that tackles the weekly carpool for the cars you couldn't live without. Trust Ameca Auto Insurance Amica. Empathy is our best policy.

[Jamie Loftus]

Welcome back to 16th minute, the podcast where we take a look at the Internet's characters of the day and see what their moment says about us and the Internet. And today we are continuing our deep dive on Hayley Welch, AKA the Hawk. To a girl when we left off last week, Hayley Welch had just decided to go public as Ms. Hoktuh on July 1, 2024, abruptly solving a mystery that sleuths across the Internet had been trying to figure out for weeks, either to identify who she was for fun or claim profit from her words and image when she wasn't claiming it for herself. And keep in mind, the original was posted June 11 and three weeks later there had already been several rounds of discourse surrounding Hayley. It wasn't until she introduced herself to the public that the details of her biography began to lock in place. This is how I've been able to put it together as best I can. Hayley Welch was raised by her grandmother or her granny in Belfast, Tennessee, population 844 around the time since she was nine months old. Some basic stats about Belfast, Tennessee. It's majority working class and comprised of non high school grads. There are two men to every woman. It is overwhelmingly white and has a limited job market. It's also farmland. Most early footage of Haley features animals in the background and if you can't see them, you can usually hear them. Haylei's parents had a limited presence in her life. Her dad, a farmhand, was in the picture, but infrequently, she says she rarely spent time with him growing up. Her mother was a drug addict from the time Hayley was born and has never been in the picture in her life. Something that Hayley became gradually more open about as her fame continued to grow. And by that I mean it is not at all unusual to to hear Haley making crack baby jokes at her own expense. Here's an example from Whitney Cummings podcast. Hayley, how old are you?

[Hayley Welch]

21.

[Jamie Loftus]

How's your mom?

[Hayley Welch]

My mama a crackhead. You don't want her.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Is she an actual crackhead?

[Hayley Welch]

Yeah, I'm a crack baby.

[Jamie Loftus]

Are you?

[Hayley Welch]

Yeah. Why you think I'm so funny?

[Jamie Loftus]

Hailey is a high school graduate with a close knit group of childhood friends. She was a cheerleader in high school and at age 21 was working at a spring factory called Tennessee Spring and Metal as an inspector and shipping manager who often had to wake up at 2:30 in the morning to get to work on time. She has a tattoo saying Still I Rise, a quote that references both a Maya Angelou poem and according to Hailey, a lot of the difficulties she faced growing up and transcending them. Anyways, the second episode of Talk to A really emphasizes the rural normality of her lifestyle, complete with her drinking wine on the porch with her friends.

[Hayley Welch]

I'm always down for Taco Bell. You want a Baja Freeze?

[Brianna LaPaglia]

I've never had one.

[Hayley Welch]

They're good. We're taking your Baja virginity and going.

[Jamie Loftus]

To Taco Bell habitually. Which in my opinion is always a sign of good character. Another thing that struck me is that Haley seems to have a vested interest in lifting up her friends from Tennessee in the process of going through this chaotic experience. Particularly Chelsea Bradford, who appeared in the original timmindee TV video with Haley and initially convinced Haley to do it at all. Chelsea was a friend who would later stand up for her a number of times and would eventually become her talk to a co host and essentially right hand woman. And the reason that most people hadn't put any of this together and assigned false narratives to proliferate that was that Hailey wasn't even on social media at the time the clip went viral. This is from her first interview on podcast Plan Brie Uncut.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Amazing. But did you delete all of your social media?

[Hayley Welch]

Okay, so I deleted all my social media like 6 months ago due to, like, personal reasons. I never really got on it or anything like that.

[Jamie Loftus]

Oh, okay.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

So it didn't have anything to do with this?

[Hayley Welch]

Oh, no. I was long gone before that.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Oh, so you, you are already gone from social media and everyone thought that you deleted your social media because you were like, scared of all of this blowing up, but you were gone.

[Hayley Welch]

I've been gone from it.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

So are you gonna come back?

[Hayley Welch]

I think we're working on that right now.

[Jamie Loftus]

As she is consistently alluded to, Haley was mortified when the hawk to a clip went viral and didn't do anything except go to work for the week after she first noticed its virality. She pretty cleanly breaks down the emotions she was navigating at this time during this interview on Plan BRI with Brianna LaPaglia of Barstool Sports.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

It was massive.

[Hayley Welch]

It was massive.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Okay, what goes through your head when that happened?

[Hayley Welch]

I was like, oh, well, this is kind of funny. I was like, it's not gonna get any bigger than this. And I go back like an hour later and the views done went up by like a million. I was like, oh my God, there is no way that just happened. But sure enough, it did.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

And then it kept going and kept going. And then there was the search for you.

[Hayley Welch]

Yeah.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

And what, like, what did you want to do when there was a search? Was there a part of you that was like, I don't want to be known as the hook to a girl?

[Hayley Welch]

Yeah, there was a big part of it. And then they started spelling my name wrong and making like, accounts of me, which they got pictures off all my friends, like social medias and stuff like that. And which it's kind of creepy seeing your face on another account that don't belong to.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

You're like, yeah, people thought you were Jillian. I saw a bunch of people were getting like, recognized as you, but wasn't you. It was wild. So when they officially found you were you, like, I want to dive into this or I want to take a step back.

[Hayley Welch]

I was like, oh, shit, I'm not adding these people back.

[Jamie Loftus]

LaPaglia also acknowledges another wave of media surrounding Hailey prior to her deciding to lean into her 15 minutes of fame.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

What do you do now? Because now you have management, now you have a team. What are your plans moving forward? Like, do you want to still be.

[Jamie Loftus]

The hook to a girl or do.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

You want to, Like, I don't really.

[Hayley Welch]

Want that to be, like, my image.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Yeah.

[Hayley Welch]

Like huck to a girl. I just. I don't see that being, like, my thing. Yeah. I don't want to be known as that.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Yeah.

[Jamie Loftus]

So it's kind of a surface exploration of how this shift went for Haley, but the idea that Hailey voluntarily wanted to leave social media six months ago and now is returning to it just to reclaim and ideally profit from this moment more or less happened because of something that was outside of her control. For everyone that I've seen jump to the conclusion that Hailey was determined to be famous, I don't see any evidence that that was the case. Thinking of the girls and women whose lives were damaged or demolished by appearances on Girls Gone Wild, I don't see it even more. But on Plan Brie. Chelsea Bradford appears briefly as well and offers a little insight in her ability to consent to the on the street interview. From her perspective, did you say anything.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

That you wish you didn't say?

[Jamie Loftus]

No.

[Hayley Welch]

Which I wasn't prepared for those kind of questions. So, like, I don't think anybody was.

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah.

[Hayley Welch]

Like, I wasn't in the right mind, but I knew what I was saying, you know, So I made sure to keep it, like.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Cause it was gonna go out there. Yeah. And you were just like, fuck it.

[Hayley Welch]

I just said, I don't give a fuck where it went.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

So, like I was saying before, what do you think she should do now? Like, do you think she should just take full advantage of it?

[Jamie Loftus]

Oh, absolutely.

[Hayley Welch]

Like, I love her personality and the fact that the world gets to see it, and they obviously love it too, so I think she should just. And the accent.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

The accent is so good.

[Jamie Loftus]

Again, like we talked about last week, I think two things need to be true here. There's not much doubt at this point in early July that Haley has decided to lean into this fame and see what might become of it. And that's pretty common for main characters in her age range, early 20s, who don't have long standing careers or families of their own to consider. But I think it's also fair to say that this was not something she was necessarily courting prior to this moment. So what now? During her first interview, Here is what Hailey thinks is next.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

So now is like, you're gonna go to la, you're gonna go to New York.

[Hayley Welch]

Oh, yeah.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Do you think you see yourself, like starting your own type of like show or podcast? Or are you just gonna be like an Internet personality?

[Hayley Welch]

I think we're gonna do like a show and then we're just gonna be like on a bunch of podcasts and everything else in between.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Cool. So kind of just figuring out as you got.

[Hayley Welch]

Oh yeah, there's more to come, don't worry.

[Jamie Loftus]

And at the end of her interview with LaPaglia, we get the first hint of exactly how politicized Haley is going to be as a figure when lapaglia asks if Hailey would. If Haley would Hawk Tua on that thing of various prominent people leading to the inevitable Donald Trump.

[Hayley Welch]

No. Absolutely not.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

No.

[Hayley Welch]

It's a no for me.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Jake Paul.

[Hayley Welch]

I'm happy to say Hawk.

[Jamie Loftus]

Hawk.

[Hayley Welch]

Yeah, I'm happy to say Hawk.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

You said no.

[Hayley Welch]

I don't know. It's gonna be a no for me.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Okay.

[Jamie Loftus]

Thankfully, this happened in 2024, a moment where the media had finally recognized that when someone gets this famous this fast, they really need to think about how they're going to frame her. I'm just kidding. Here's part two of Haley Welch and the Hawk Tua saga. Welcome back to the show. Let's play the theme song Bad. When you turn up the light me a start. Let's take it down. Give me one moment.

[Hayley Welch]

Sixteen min. Sixteen minute. Sixteen minutes.

[Jamie Loftus]

Welcome back to 16th Minute, the podcast where we take a look at the Internet's main characters of the day, talk to them and see what their moment meant for them and what it says about us and the Internet. My name is Jamie Loftus and while I'm recording this from the past, I'm assuming President Trump's second inauguration was even scarier. And while I dissociate with you for an hour or so, let's continue to examine the saga of Hawk to a girl, Hayley Welch, after her first formal media appearance with Brianna LaPaglia, aka Brianna Chicken Fry. No time to explain. Explained she was further politicized by saying that she was not interested in hocktuing on Donald Trump's penis. And I mean, God forbid, these two 21 year old girls immediately knew they didn't want to slobber on the dick of a nearly 80 year old man. And off of this very normal question came a very normal media response. On the right we have Laura Loomer.

[Mark Cuban]

The degenerate hawktuber girl whose real name is Hayley Welsh's anti Trump.

[Jamie Loftus]

Then Laura Loomer later that day.

[Mark Cuban]

I stand corrected. Il Ackman. Upon further review, it turns out that she was only talking about whether she would perform fellatio on President Trump.

[Jamie Loftus]

And in the center, an embarrassing Twitter account called Biden's Wins.

[Grant]

The hawktua girl just absolutely demolished Donald Trump, saying it's a no go for her retweet to make sure all Americans know Gen Z is speaking out against Donald Trump and his radical agenda.

[Jamie Loftus]

And in the words of a normal Instagram commenter, stop memeifying politics.

[Grant]

It's not whimsical or cute. America is facing a horrifying reality and articles like this trivialize it.

[Jamie Loftus]

This feels like it happened 5,000 years ago. But while all of this was happening, Hailey's team put her to work, mostly making appearances. At first, she memorably met Shaq, who is the king of the random endorsements.

[Grant]

Epson Ego tank comes with so much ink you can print up to 5,000 pages. Can your printer do that?

[Jamie Loftus]

This coming as a former attendee of the shacktoberfest haunted house in Long Beach, California, but Haley met him at a bar in Nashville while he for some reason did a DJ set. Haley's publicist, who also represents Bruce Springsteen, seems to have taken a pretty classic approach with making her image. He got Haley near as many mainstream figures and outlets as possible as quickly as possible in an attempt to build credibility in the space that Haley seemed to be interested and well suited in video chat, podcasting. And while she was nearly immediately asked if she would give Donald Trump a blowjob, Haley and company tried to mitigate this kind of politicization in the days and weeks to come, as Haley was brought on stage at the Zak Bryan concert and flown out to judge a bikini contest in Fort Lauderdale. Telling Rolling Stone in her first national interview on July 11 that the attention had been really overwhelming for her as someone whose biggest fear was getting kidnapped. She covertly addresses this kind of politicization in the interview, saying when asked about the upcoming 2024 election, I don't want.

[Mark Cuban]

To be in the middle of it. Whoever you want to be president, that's your business. What's my opinion to you? And I was talking about looks wise Donald Trump, I'm sure you're a nice man, but you ain't getting the hawk from me. He's old enough to be my granddaddy.

[Jamie Loftus]

Okay, let's put a pin in that. In this same Rolling Stone interview, Haley emphasizes wanting to do something positive with the fame she'd gotten from her meme. This kind of reminds me of Ken Bone. And she wanted to depoliticize her own image. Also kind of reminds me of Ken Bone. And to be clear, these two people do not have a lot in common, but it does seem to be kind of the plight of the election year. Main character, remember Ken Bone went viral in 2016 at an election event, Haley told Rolling Stone.

[Mark Cuban]

Maybe this was like God's gift to me or something, she says. Everything that's going to come from this, it's going to be something good.

[Jamie Loftus]

The piece also notes that Hayley was consistently surrounded by her new manager and publicist, along with Chelsea and a videographer. It's clear that she wanted familiar and newly trusted people around her to advise on this barrage of attention. The Penthouse team's motto for Haley was said to be Protect the hawk from the vultures.

[Grant]

Oh brother, this guy stinks.

[Jamie Loftus]

Two desires seem to be locked in from the beginning. She wants to start a podcast or do something else in comedy. And she wants to help animals. And by the time the Rolling Stone article was released, Haley had in fact released her own merch and had reportedly already made over $65,000 in addition to $30,000 for an appearance she would make on Long Island. So she had, at this point, reclaimed her image. The question was, in an industry she was completely unfamiliar with, who could she trust to help shape this image? We'll get back to that, but I just want to single out the name of her merch site. 16minutes.life. I have more examples down the line, but this is a repeated trend that makes it seem like Haley and her team wanted the podcast title to this exact show. Too bad. So sorry. Hope you enjoyed this episode. A few days later, she made this aforementioned Long island appearance at a bar called the Ugly Duckling, as chronicled in a piece in the Cut that featured some of the most needlessly classest writing I've read in a while. What the writer is correct to point out, I think, is that this was a bar swarmed with mostly white Republican supporters of all ages, from kids trying to fake their way in to meet the woman of the moment to grown men in one of the many unlicensed Hocktuha T shirts with Trump's face on them reading truly nasty slogans like if she don't hock Tua, don't talk Tua as well as a literal Donald Trump impersonator. Why the writer goes out of their way to call the bar shitty, the people smelly and tubby and drinking Miller Lite as a naive attempt to fit in, is anyone's guess. Don't get me wrong, this event sounded extremely unpleasant, and the writer is not wrong to point out how this exemplified Haley's early and immediate Republican voter appeal. When she arrives, Haley is said to be ogled over and swarmed by adult right wing men. And while she's enthusiastic and polite taking photos in a yellow dress, one of her management team members leans over to the writer from the cut saying, I.

[Grant]

Have a newfound appreciation for how creepy men can be, but she's taking it like a champ. She's a girl.

[Jamie Loftus]

She is a girl. Interesting observation. Anyways, a few days later, Hayley confirmed that men throwing themselves at her in this desperate, creepy way both made her uncomfortable and was her new normal, along with the almost to be expected requests for feet Pics and an OnlyFans launch, neither of which she had ever indicated an interest in. She said that she didn't even know how this appearance had come together, only that it was a part of her management's plan to get her a podcast deal. And when asked about the very trumpy nature of the event, Hailey said she didn't want to get a picture with the Trump impersonator and did not want to discuss her personal politics, explaining, I.

[Mark Cuban]

Don'T know much about politics, I don't talk about things that I don't know.

[Jamie Loftus]

And in regards to the creepy men.

[Mark Cuban]

I'm there for the women. I'd sit there all day and talk to the women.

[Jamie Loftus]

And as summer 2024 continued, Haley's management seemed to find where her podcasting niche was going to lie. It's a weirdly difficult space to identify, and the closest I found is something that writer Max Reed calls the Zinternet. Something he explains is the expanded universe of not just men, but content generally marketed towards young to middle aged men that if you trace the ladder up high enough, always comes back to someone's shitty scammy sports betting apple. He describes the Zinternet, I think pretty.

[Grant]

Perfectly like could probably communicate the basic contours of this community simply by calling it frat Internet or barstool Internet or dumbass parlay bet Internet or Internet made up of guys who send annoying whiny replies to AOC or whoever and when you click on their profiles it's like thousands of retweets of stories about the LSU football program.

[Jamie Loftus]

Ridiculously specific? Maybe, but it's huge. This space has become pretty big in the last 10 years, Reid speculates, in part because of Elon Musk taking over Twitter and because sports gambling has been legalized in so many places in the US and when they became legalized, they needed to build media to get young people addicted to gambling. I even have a personal anecdote from this When I worked at the Boston Globe when I first got out of college, my editor left to go work as the editor of DraftKings, which at the time sounded ridiculous. The other reporters and I thought he was a dumbass because why would you leave a legacy newspaper to develop hashtag content for a sports betting app? Well, we are all podcasters and substackers now and he is a millionaire so shout out. Corey.

[Discover Representative]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide and every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the Now It Pays to Discover. Learn more at discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report at.

[Grant]

Ameca Insurance, we know it's more than just a car. It's the two door coupe that was there for your first drive, the hatchback that took you cross country and back, and the minivan that tackles the weekly carpool for the cars you couldn't live without. Trust Ameca Auto Insurance Amica Empathy is our best policy. I'm Grant and I'm your new Bachelor. ABC Mondays.

[Jamie Loftus]

Is this real? Is he real?

[Grant]

The Bachelor is back and the ladies are head over heels.

[Jamie Loftus]

Tall, handsome, smart. He's perfect.

[Grant]

It's an all new season of romance. I'm 110% ready to fall in love. My love story is going to happen. And of course drama.

[Jamie Loftus]

These other girls are dating my boyfriend. You act like you don't care. He knows how I feel.

[Grant]

I did not know how hard this.

[Jamie Loftus]

Is going to be.

[Grant]

The Bachelor Mondays 8. Seven Central on ABC and stream on Hulu.

[Jamie Loftus]

Cheap Caribbean is celebrating more than just the new year in 2025. Cheap Caribbean Vacations is celebrating its 25th birthday too. You're invited to join in on the birthday fun and book a beach vacation with more savings. Now through February 3rd, you can unlock up to $250 off site wide vacation packages. Celebrate these awesome savings at your favorite beach and book your next all inclusive [e-mail] your $250 off is waiting. Foreign if you listen to my recent series on the manosphere, this corner of media isn't that precisely, but it is very adjacent. And it's this area of the Internet that Hayley Welch kind of fits in seamlessly with. Something that becomes clear in the series of shows she's featured on in the next two months before she eventually launches her own podcast, the Famous Talk to.

[Hayley Welch]

A I just play better picks, hit some 2000x lineups and have a ton of fun winning money, download better and play better picks. If you want to win 2,000 times your money, download better, play better picks. Hello and welcome back to Talk to I Got Miss Chelsea and then Mark Cuban.

[Jamie Loftus]

But before that there was her appearance on Whitney Cummings show where we get pull quotes like this.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

I remember thinking, this is so unfair. People should be able to go out and have a couple drinks and have fun and not get famous overnight for.

[Hayley Welch]

It, but have it thrown on the Internet.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Are you close to having a house? A month later?

[Hayley Welch]

I could, yeah, probably next month I'd say I could probably buy a house.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

I think one of the coolest things about you becoming famous is how hard everyone's rooting for you. Like the Internet is usually so negative. It's such a nasty place. And I'm sure you've seen some nasty stuff then. That'll always happen though.

[Hayley Welch]

I love hot dogs until I found out what's in them.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

I love hot dogs.

[Hayley Welch]

I love hot dogs. I do. I love hot dogs.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

That is like the most sexual thing you can say by accident. That is gonna just. Oh, I almost feel like we have to cut that out.

[Jamie Loftus]

And tragically, later in this interview, Whitney Cummings FaceTimes Hayley Welch's biggest comedy crush, Matt Wright. So Matt Rife, let me see if I can do this in a sentence or two. Matt Rife is a tremendously unfunny stand up comedian who pivoted to strictly misogynist jokes in the last couple years when he grew insecure that too many women were coming to his shows because they were attracted to him. Whether that's why he chose to get the world's worst cheek implants is anyone's guess. I know, I know, I know body shaming is horrible, but I hope you'll it doesn't count when we're talking about Matt Rife.

[Grant]

But sometimes you get a girl with a big and you're like, God, dude, I'm nothing. You just Dude, I've seen. I've seen it. I've seen it. When I've been in the bedroom with a girl with a massive. I'm like, yo, that's pretty close. Yeah, what am I supposed to you or thumb wrestle?

[Jamie Loftus]

And while the bread and butter of these Zinternet podcasters is built around talking about cancel culture, and you can't do that anymore, Haley never really talks about cancel culture and doesn't really seem to have much interest in airing hot takes on these appearances or even later on her own show. But it's clear that these edgy, often controversial white millionaires are the ones that she's pulled towards. You're Matt Rifes, you're Morgan Wallins. The list unfortunately goes on. And Hailey's management takes care to pull her image towards sports, even though sports are something that Hailey herself regularly admits she knows and cares very little about. But there she is, throwing the first pitch at a Mets game on August 15th. For some reason, I'm not going to put you through all of these appearances, but one I do need to single out because it is a. A cultural artifact so baffling that I consider it my patriotic duty to share it with you. Haley Welch, Ms. Tua on Bill Maher's podcast, Ask.

[Hayley Welch]

I'm not up to trends. I had to figure out who you were today. I'm so serious. I don't keep up with anything.

[G]

You're 21. You're not supposed to. I'd be disappointed if you did. Your day to day before this happened was like working in a. Where'd you work?

[Hayley Welch]

A spring factory.

[G]

A spring factory. Right.

[Hayley Welch]

It wasn't nothing bad, though. It's not like a normal factory you hear anything about, like, it was really laid back. I enjoyed it there.

[G]

Yeah, but it's still a fucking factory. I mean, yeah.

[Hayley Welch]

I mean, he got the bills paid. That's all that mattered. I didn't mind getting up, going to work every day.

[G]

Which is better, that, or now you're in show business? Come on. Show business. You don't know Woody Harrelson yet? No, I don't really. Woody Harrelson. That is time. What a Ravager.

[Jamie Loftus]

Now that's religilous. I don't have the time or energy to talk more about Bill Maher's podcast. I do know it's called Club Random, which sounds like a little brother's YouTube channel. But I do kind of love this interview because Haley does not know or care who Bill Maher is, and it seems to be bringing him to the verge of having a nervous attack. The whole interview is basically him quizzing her on World War II and the Beatles while putting this, like, weird life serum into his sparkling water with a syringe while she drinks High Noon like a normal person. I promise I'm not lying. It's very, very weird. The only good advice Mar is capable of giving Haley is something I noticed happened across media elders who spoke with her. Even when they're people I'm not personally a fan of. There are many people twice or three times her age who gave Haley just pragmatic entertainment advice on how best to not fuck your life up. Here's Bill Maher.

[G]

I told you, you were given this chip. You were given the chip of fame. Now you want to trade that in for something that uses that but takes it to the next level. You have to, like, trade on what you're already known for. That's the one thing you're known for. So you could do a podcast for, like, I don't know if there's anything from somebody that age with that point of view, but it couldn't be frivolous. You have to take it seriously. Could you do that possibly and talk about sex? But seriously, serious issues? Because there are a lot of really serious issues.

[Jamie Loftus]

And weirdly enough, this also happened on Whitney's podcast with Matt Rife, of all people.

[Grant]

And they were just asking if I had any kind of advice to somebody who had had similar success in a similar field and platform. And you were the example that brought up. And I basically just said to fucking stick to your guns and have fun and be smart and responsible. Because as much I'm sure you've already started to see this a little bit, as much as people love you today, more and more people hate you tomorrow. And the more people love you, the more people hate you, because people love you. So people love to see you succeed in the beginning, but then they fucking love to tear you down when they feel like you've gotten too big for your britches. So my advice that I gave was just for you to be smart and fucking enjoy yourself.

[Jamie Loftus]

So every once in a while, she gets a usable piece of advice. But this doesn't seem to be the path that she's gonna go on to this day. It's unclear to me how much of this plan is of her own volition and how much is being pushed by the management. But I have my suspicions. I'll share this quote from her manager, Johnny Forster, when he was asked if he thought Hailey would ever try to get Hollywood representation.

[Grant]

She doesn't even really know what that means. No disrespect to that.

[Jamie Loftus]

Okay. By mid to late summer, Hailey had an Instagram audience of over a million people. Which makes it interesting when she starts a Twitter or X account sometime later in the summer. Mainly because. Sorry, I mean, I'm still on there too. But Hailey's generation is not particularly interested in Twitter. She literally calls it X. No, from what I can gather, Hailey started her X account because she was encouraged to at a massive crypto conference she was attending as a celebrity guest last summer. Now, it's unclear exactly how this crypto appearance came together, but it appears the culprit may be Howie Mandela.

[Grant]

$1 million is a top prize. No crazy stunts, no trivia questions. All they have to do is be able to answer the most important question tonight. And that question is Deal or no Deal?

[Jamie Loftus]

Like that. Howie Mandel, host of Deal or no Deal, voice of the Mogwai gizmo. Gizmo. Howie Mandel.

[Grant]

Has it got a name, dad? Yeah, Maguire. What?

[Hayley Welch]

Maguire.

[Grant]

I don't know, some Chinese word. I just call him Gizmo. He seems to like it. And then my friend got me onto a movie. I did this movie called Gremlins. Gizmo. Yes. The first little one and. But it's the same voice. He goes. It's the same voice.

[Jamie Loftus]

So this is. Stay with me. Hayley Welch appeared on Howie Mandel's podcast called Howie Mandel does stuff where she plays this jokey game where she learns about her ancestry in a bad ripoff of a much better show on PBS called finding your roots for Hollywood people.

[Grant]

You should keep it.

[Hayley Welch]

Yeah, I don't trust anybody. It's not just Hollywood people. It's just anybody.

[Grant]

Why? What happened?

[Hayley Welch]

I just don't.

[Grant]

Did something happen?

[Hayley Welch]

No, I just don't trust anybody.

[Grant]

Let's ask management. Can she haktuja into the haktua? Into the tube, away from the microphone.

[Jamie Loftus]

And I can't prove that this isn't a coincidence, but Haley Welch later links up with Howie Mandel's son in law, Alex Larson Schultz, AKA Doc Hollywood, who is technically a musician, but for the sake of this sentence is absolutely a crypto guy. This brings us to July 24th when Doc Hollywood posts a photo of himself. Let's see, description. White guy of indeterminate age, presumably bald, black rimmed glasses, black T shirt, you can tell cost over $100 for some reason. Flat brim hat. And he's pointing at Haley Welch and Chelsea Bradford while reading Matt Fury books. Behind him saying that meme class is in session. And in case you're not terminally online, Matt Furie's work is a reference to the fact that he created the cartoon frog Pepe, who the right wing and the crypto lobby have pretty successfully stolen as a symbol of their own. So while it's unclear whether Doc Hollywood introduced Hayley Welch to Howie Mandel or the reverse, if I told you Howie Mandel's son in law was a prominent villain in this saga, would you believe me? Because that is the world that I'm asking you to live in. Because once Doc Hollywood pops up as A very thorough timeline from the Ringer's Katie Baker details, Haley becomes a peculiar fixture in the blockchain community, a place known for crypto scams, Crypto being something that Haley has also suspiciously never demonstrated an interest in before. Hayley becomes a soft fixture in both the crypto and the sports gambling space, mainly because the two are connected via a lot of sketchy gambling, including a cursed encounter where she met RFK at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in late July at some event called Karate Combat. Sure, and it's around this same time that she starts an X account. And while her personality remains somewhat consistent across her social media channels, I do need to note that the content on Hailey's X account is markedly different from what you'd find on her Instagram or her Snapchat. Instagram and Snapchat for Hailey tend to be more general influencer lifestyle y things, her sharing her personality in a fairly direct way, but her X personality is marketed to the crypto AI General Chaos tech, bro. Her early tweets I am absolutely certain from when I began researching this series are from early July 2024, but appear to have been since deleted and are impossible to access via the Wayback Machine. Something I suspect has something to do with an eventual crypto loss lawsuit. But I do feel very confident in saying that Haley's first posts on X are a series of videos and pictures from a Nashville bitcoin expo where she agrees to start an X account at the event. At present, Haley's first tweet that's publicly available is from August 7th, but you'll have to take my word for the fact that that is not true. Regardless, the Hayley presented on Axe isn't just a relatable girl from Nashville. She's a crypto capitalist with a Southern twang, a very different version of herself, to the point that she'd occasionally have to remind people that she was running the account herself posting front facing videos as evidence.

[Hayley Welch]

It's me bitch. What do you fucking mean anytime? Do I have to tell y'all? It's me bitch. It's me bitches.

[Jamie Loftus]

But most of her posts here are either promo for her eventual podcast on fellow crypto bro Jake Paul's sports betting company platform, or ugly AI generated images of her onto tech bro meme formats in no particular order, Haley as an astronaut, Haley as the Statue of Liberty, Haley surfing, holding a beer and an American flag while wearing a tuxedo, and her spin on existing meme formats like the Drake one waving away traditional news sources, then smiling and pointing at X. She's using dumb catchphrases like grok tua. This account is clearly courting the Elon Musk lobby on Elon Musk's platform specifically. And while this alternate Hailey Persona builds on X, she and her management continue to introduce her to the corner of the hyper successful, ultimately kind of bigoted and boring video podcast world. Whitney Cummings, Bill Maher, and so on. Then on Instagram, over on her more normal Persona. On August 28, Hailey launches the One Initiative it seems like she actually would have cared about three months earlier. A nonprofit called Paws Across America.

[Hayley Welch]

Today I'm happy to announce the launch of my Paws Across America Fund. Our mission is to bring awareness, advocacy and financial assistance to animal charities within the United States. I'm starting in my hometown shelter and it went a little something like this. We're at Petco and we're gonna be getting some supplies, so the first thing on my list is leashes and collars.

[Jamie Loftus]

She calls this initiative her life's mission and I honestly believe her. Her love of her friends, family and pets are the only ostensible consistence across this story. Now, as for what the nonprofit does, very hard to say. Their URL is registered under Hayley's LLC. 16 minutes and we know she reportedly donated a half a million dollars of her own money and partnered with the Community foundation of Tennessee to get the nonprofits started. But what we don't know is how much this charity made or what they really did. But they are accepting donations to this day. Don't donate there. But at the time the nonprofit was announced, Haley said, ever since my life.

[Mark Cuban]

Changed so publicly, I realized there had to be a reason for it, said Haley Walsh. Growing up, the one constant in my life was was my pets. And they helped me get through so much. By starting Hayley Welsh's Paws Across America, my newfound financial blessings will be shared with the animals that need it most.

[Jamie Loftus]

And at the time, this got Hayley a fair amount of goodwill. Here she is acknowledging that her fame materialized out of kind of nowhere, as much of the media surrounding her had indicated, and that she wanted to do something productive with it. But the management machine that she had brought on to protect and expand her influence continued to work behind the scenes. The next day, Hailey's EX account was back posting memes, this time with Haley's face on a crypto coin. And three days later she and Chelsea are at the Celebrity Poker Tournament, which to no one's surprise, was her first poker game, and she appeared to have no previous interest in it, in my opinion. Clearly the management has a mission here, but before we can get there, yes, it's time to Talk Talk Tua, whose trailer launched on September 2, 2024.

[Grant]

She's literally doing anything to stay relevant.

[Jamie Loftus]

Does anyone actually give a about her?

[Grant]

Why are we keeping this girl relevant? Your 15 minutes are up.

[Jamie Loftus]

Your joke was funny for two days. Stop.

[Hayley Welch]

Y'all really thought I was done? I'm just getting started, baby.

[Jamie Loftus]

Incidentally, all of the clips of podcast conversations that follow in this trailer are never actually aired, as is referenced on the podcast months later by Jake Paul himself. It appears that the entire first round of interviews conducted were never aired due to being weird, stilted, or combative on the part of the guests, meaning Jake Paul. In the trailer, the conversations are with Zinternet appealing guests talking to Haley outside with a campfire, while the eventual show happens in a more conventional studio setting with the obligatory fluorescent sign that says Talk to a. But even if none of this footage ever ends up airing, the trailer effectively teases the idea of the podcast. It appears on Jake Paul's network, it features real conversations with the coolest guests, and it teases what becomes a running, if uninteresting question throughout the show's who is Pookie? I'll spoil that for you. Pookie is Haley's on again, off again boyfriend who is a seemingly nice plumber from her hometown named Kelby. He's around her age. He seems fine. But don't let this deter you from the podcast message, which is essentially who's Pookie?

[Hayley Welch]

He may stop by too. New exercise every week. Subscribe to that thing.

[Jamie Loftus]

The announcement for the podcast in the Hollywood Reporter read as follows.

[Grant]

Welch is set to host the podcast Talk Tua as part of the Better Banner, with the first episode debuting September 10th on Social, Digital and audio platforms. The weekly podcast will see Welch showcasing her comedic style and Southern charm through a blend of interviews, lively discussions and humorous moments.

[Jamie Loftus]

So if you Listen to the 16th Minute Manosphere Series, this might sound a little familiar. The just having funny conversations formula is very similar to all the most successful right leaning podcasts that populate the manosphere every day. But at this point, Hailey was a mainstream figure, so most reactions to the announcement of Talk to A were either tongue in cheek finally, or the more boring lamenting that the podcast signified the end of the world. As every Hayley Welch news development seemed to tease out at the time, the audience was barstool conservatives. But as I said in our first part, I still firmly believe that I am the only person to have ever truly watched every single episode of Talk to A. But before we delve into my psychosis, what's more interesting than the actual content of the podcast is the way that Hailey and her management go in terms of aligning her with Jake Paul, the one, the only, the unfortunate More on that motherfucker when we come back.

[Discover Representative]

Are you still quoting 30 year old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the Now It Pays to Discover. Learn more at discover.com credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report every.

[Grant]

Day our world gets a little more connected, but a little further apart. But then there are moments that remind us to be more human.

[Jamie Loftus]

Thank you for calling Amica Insurance.

[Grant]

Hey, I was just in an accident.

[Jamie Loftus]

Don't worry, we'll get you taken care of.

[Grant]

At Ameca, we understand that looking out for each other isn't new or groundbreaking. It's human. Ameca. Empathy is our best policy. I'm Grant and I'm your new Bachelor. ABC Mondays.

[Jamie Loftus]

Is this real? Is he real?

[Grant]

The Bachelor is back and the ladies are head over heels.

[Jamie Loftus]

Tall, handsome, smart. He's perfect.

[Grant]

It's an all new season of romance. I'm 110% ready to fall in love. My love story is gonna happen. And of course drama.

[Jamie Loftus]

These other girls are dating my boyfriend. You act like you don't care. He knows how I feel.

[Grant]

I did not know how hard this was gonna be. The Bachelor Mondays 87 Central on ABC and stream on Hulu with the best.

[Jamie Loftus]

All inclusive vacation deals to Mexico and the Caribbean. Booking your getaway with cheap Caribbean vacations means you have more freedom to do Whether you want to enjoy snorkeling, endless margaritas and more, or simply soak up the sun and sand in a tropical paradise, Cheap Caribbean Vacations has your deal for that plan and book the exact way you want at exactly the right price for you by using our exclusive budget Beach Finder. Or find a featured all inclusive package to Blue Diamond Resorts and do your [e-mail] welcome back to 16th Minute and we are at a critical point in Hayley Welch's social media career where she puts her trust in one of the worst men on the planet and his brother who is a close second. You can really put either brother in either position. Logan and Jake Paul are an entity unto themselves, but the brothers became famous online when they were even younger than Haley. Blowing up on vine in the mid-2010s in Ohio. They started posting regularly when Logan was 12 and Jake was 10. Here's Logan's first YouTube video.

[Hayley Welch]

Can I have a drink? The the what's that called again?

[Jamie Loftus]

Already obnoxious. But the Paul brothers have run the gamut of what Internet success can look like pretty cleanly straddling second generation Internet pre Covid to remind you of what that playbook was like. This was all about moving to LA, becoming daily vloggers and prank YouTubers, and being at the very front of the hype house trend.

[Grant]

Wow. I never thought I would say this but welcome home Jake Paulers. We made it mom. We flippin made it. Good morning Jake Paulers. What's flippin Gucci? Today is off to a flippin amazing start. We're moving in to the new Team 10 house. We already got the flipping cars parked in the driveway. I mean come on, it's official.

[Jamie Loftus]

Maybe still the most famous ipost to this day. Jake Paul's Team 10 was omnipotent online in the mid to late 2010s, but for the brothers tasering two dead rats and getting demonetized on YouTube later, as well as both having terrible botched rap careers that were mostly just plugs for merch. Here's one of Logan's worst and I.

[Grant]

Heard you're from the north but I'm from Ohio. Christmas round the corner. Get your merch link in. Bio Logan Paul, you use your song to plug your merch. Yeah boy. I'm the maverick. Why your feelings hurt? Hey.

[Jamie Loftus]

The brothers found that they had to continue pivoting because they were getting canceled intermittently for truly horrific stuff. At age 23, older than Hayley Welch is right now, and well into his Internet fame Logan Paul famously made content in the quote unquote Japanese suicide forest for clickbait, posting videos of recently deceased bodies while joking and making YouTube thumbnail face about it. Not only is this truly disgusting, but keep in mind that the audience for the Paul brothers at the time were overwhelmingly children, and by extension, this put Logan Paul at the forefront of the disingenuous YouTube apology format. I've made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I don't expect to be forgiven. I'm simply here to apologize. But Jake and Logan persisted Cleanly into Web 3.0, the post Covid era defined by long meandering YouTube podcasts with conspiracy theorists pivoting to boxing, an NFT scam called Crypto Zoo that, from what I can tell, sold NFTs of zoo animal stock images, military defense startups abandoning their pet pigs, going full Trump and donating five figures to his 2024 fundraising efforts, interviewing Trump and solidifying Nepal's place in the new manosphere of late 2024.

[Grant]

Give a fight your brother, not in real life. You practiced a little bit. Never. We've never even sparred. But I was willing to step in for Mike T when Tyson got sick and we actually ran it up the chain in Netflix. It's hard for brothers to fight, though. Well, me and Jake decided we both come from a place of love.

[Jamie Loftus]

That was Logan, and in Jake's case pertinently to this story, a sports betting app called betr, which eventually brought on some podcasts to basically promote the app. And that's thankfully all you need to know about the Paul brothers for the purposes of this show. But keep in mind what the Paul brothers have in common with Haley Welch. They became famous at Random Online, but they, unlike her, are made of Teflon. The more they're canceled, the further right an audience they court, which is pretty normal practice at this point. But I do think the fact that they're men makes it a lot easier for them to keep bouncing back, because white guys are the people we're conditioned to give redemption arcs to. And I know a lot of that sounded vague and didn't attribute things to one brother or the other, but to be honest, I'm not paid enough to tell them apart. But having done all this stuff and still remaining successful enough for the recent Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, a convicted rapist Netflix boxing match, to become one of the most successful Streamed sports events ever, it's bleak. The Pauls have found a lot of success doing whatever the most annoying, profitable thing to do is in any given online moment. And as much as I hate to hand it to them, they've pioneered a lot of annoying scammy trends over the last decade. And it's the younger Paul Jake who founded the Better app and bravely fought that convicted rapist two and a half times his age on the world's largest streaming platform, who ends up seeing an opportunity in Haley Welch. Enter Talk to a But it almost wasn't called Talk to A. Check this out.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Talk to Us. A really good name for the podcast. I was, I was very.

[Hayley Welch]

That's all her right there.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Oh, that girl is really good.

[Hayley Welch]

We had like a few different ones.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Like what? What else did you say?

[Hayley Welch]

There was you get me. And then there was this one. What was the other one? Sweet tea. 16 minutes, smart ass. Like, you know, the 15 minutes like.

[Jamie Loftus]

But you might remember people were frustrated to see Haley expand her influence. Some because she was trying to capitalize on the attention and in my case, because aligning yourself with the Paul brothers is a bad sign. Not a surprising call to be clear, because the appearances that Haley had made thus far fell somewhere between center libertarian right so people freaked out about Cancel Culture and making dick jokes as a full time job well into their 40s. But what's interesting is that many of these appearances and early guests are pretty even split of people who are either 10 or more years older than Haley is, or people currently employed by Barstool Sports. So it is clear what media group she's falling into and it's a lucrative group of people. And while some of them are mainstream names, most are niche popular or got their start on the Internet and seem to have been chosen to pull in a wider audience for Haley. From younger guests like Jojo Siwa and country singer Dasha to high profile comedians like Hannah Burner and Whitney Cummings, to more popular center to conservative podcast hosts like Brooke Schofield, Kaitlyn Bristow and Briana Chicken Fry to tech adjacent bros and business bros like Jake Paul, Wiz Khalifa and I'm not kidding, Mark Cuban. That man will talk to fucking anyone. So as the talk to a historian du jour, I'm convinced what happens on this show that's worth discussing because most of the comments on the YouTube releases of the podcast, which peak at 2.7 million views on the debut episode and reach their low at around a quarter million views as well as charting on conventional podcast charts, most commenters don't appear to be watching the show.

[Grant]

I'm a 41 year old surgeon mid operation. I got an important message that the Talktua podcast was released. I dropped everything and rushed home immediately. Thank you for saving my life. Talktua currently fighting on the front lines in Ukraine and everyone has called truce to watch episode one of the Talktua podcast. Amen. I was in the middle of driving a school bus full of kids on the highway when I got this notification. I jumped out of the bus causing a 19 car pileup just to run home and watch this podcast. Thank you Mrs. Talktua. You are truly inspiration.

[Jamie Loftus]

So what happens when you do listen to the show? Here's a short tour. In episode one with Whitney Cummings we learn that the podcast is being recorded in LA as well as are introduced to the people who Hailey is surrounded by more or less constantly. There's of course Chelsea who serves as a co host who they cut to every once in a while. Also her manager Jamie, who seems like a real piece of work and seemingly a publicist from time to time. During episode one, Hailey talks about how she recently has taken her first flight ever from Nashville to LA and holds her own pretty well. Although Whitney Cummings is pretty generous and encouraging about making sure the conversation keeps moving. And there's a bone chilling pattern established for this first time host. The transition from being a spirited conversation with other people to a dead eyed reading of an ad for Jake Paul's shitty sports betting app.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

But like, so that's something that is such a breath of fresh air about you.

[Hayley Welch]

It is, you know, I agree. So I'm gonna be real with y'all. I was never the biggest football fan. I honestly don't even get the rules that much. But what I do know is I like having fun and winning money and better picks let you win up to a thousand times your money.

[Jamie Loftus]

These interruptions get increasingly weird as the show continues. But the only other thing really worth mentioning here is that Whitney Cummings gives Haley the following misleading reassurance at the end of her appearance.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

So no, I'm proud of the people you've surrounded yourself with.

[Hayley Welch]

Thank you.

[Brianna LaPaglia]

Because that makes or breaks you mentally, financially, everything. So you have amazing taste in humans.

[Jamie Loftus]

Whoops. Fast forward to episode three with Kaitlyn Bristowe where Haley shares the following terrifying prophetic dream.

[Hayley Welch]

So I actually had a dream about Matt Rife a few weeks ago and it like traumatized me a little bit. This man, he come out, he was like, just give me a minute, you know, I'll be right back. I was like, oh, okay. He comes back and he's like looking at me awful weird. So I was like, okay, I need to get away from him. I start running from him and hide in this closet. And there's a bunch of dead girls in this closet. When I get in it, he's not like, killed, you know, I'm like, what the fuck? He opens the door and finds me and I, like, dart in between his legs and run out. And then I'm in a cornfield somehow. And then he runs out with an axe and starts, like, cutting on my ankle.

[Jamie Loftus]

Oh, my God. Episode 4. Haley's asked by guest Dasha about her mental health. I Sweet.

[Hayley Welch]

Whatever, Dump. Sometimes.

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah, okay.

[Hayley Welch]

If you read, like, some mean shit, like, on an off day, you're like, damn.

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah.

[Hayley Welch]

What if they're right?

[Jamie Loftus]

Yeah. Episode five, Haley acknowledges her fucked up and traumatic childhood.

[Hayley Welch]

You had, like, a crazy childhood. I had a very fucked up childhood. Really? Yeah. Damn. I'm a granny, baby. Was that like, like, my granny raised me? Oh, wait. Same as my girlfriend.

[Jamie Loftus]

Episode seven, the five millionth teaser of who Is Pookie turns into yet another sports gambling ad.

[Hayley Welch]

All right, y'all, big announcement. It's time for the reveal. And no, I'm not talking about Pookie. I'm talking about the best offer for this NB season. In honor of basketball being back, all new and existing users will get a deposit match on Better Picks.

[Jamie Loftus]

Now, Chelsea is in the ads as well, but she doesn't really say anything. She just stares vacantly into the middle distance. And it's around this part of the show where guests will regularly quiz Haley on things she doesn't know, making her look charmingly uninformed for not knowing who figures like Plato and Socrates are. For all of its silliness, it's pretty dull. But as Talk to A chugs along, Hailey reaches a few more benchmarks of cultural relevance, including the classic weird SNL reference.

[Grant]

Time to meet today's celebrity contestants. We've got the viral sensation of the summer, the somehow famous for one sentence, Haley Welch.

[Jamie Loftus]

Huh?

[Hayley Welch]

Tooey ain't spit on that thing.

[Grant]

That's the one. Yep.

[Jamie Loftus]

In late September. And she made more inroads with the conservative tech community by joining Kik in early October, Kick being the streaming platform where most people go after they've been kicked off of Twitch for saying a slur. On Kick, she livestreams her appearance at a gamer conference. Haley also makes repeated attempts on X to meet Michael Saylor, a bitcoin billionaire who, of course has been to court for tax fraud. On X, she repeatedly tries to saddle up to Elon Musk, posting a number of AI Photoshops as that scary Tesla robot, as well as advocating to free Ross Ulbricht, who's currently serving a life sentence for running the darknet monolith Silk Road. While Haley never advocates for Trump explicitly, the way she's saddled up to mostly his supporters gives you an idea of the audience she's interested in. On October 9th, Mr. Beast, a tremendously successful YouTuber who recently got engaged to try to distract from his ongoing reputation troubles, rented out an entire movie theater to watch talk to on the big screen, captioning it as pov.

[Grant]

You rent a theater to watch, talk to a, listen to the Thick of It by KSI and eat lunchly.

[Jamie Loftus]

Which, in case you have a life, is a canceled YouTuber named Mr. Beast watching a crypto fraud Flash in the Pan Influencers podcast Hayley Welch while listening to rapper/ Logan Paul's best friend/ co business owner KSI while eating lunch Leaf Lunch Lee is, or maybe was at this point I just checked, is a Lunchables competitor founded by KSI, Logan Paul and Mr. Beast that famously has a lot of disgusting mold in it. Anyways, nice plug for Talktua by Mr. Beast. Of course, the reason Mr. Beast did that was synergy. Lunchle is a Paul endeavor and Haley is an employee of the Paul family. And that synergy goes both ways. Once The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight is announced on Netflix, Hailey and Chelsea constantly joke about it, mention that they're attending, encourage others to watch, and jokingly pretend to be rooting for convicted rapist Mike Tyson. We have to keep moving. Episode nine, released a week before the 2024 election, this ad appears.

[Hayley Welch]

Chelsea, guess what? What is it this time? Did you know you can bet on the election? Like you can bet on who's gonna be president? Yeah, it's this new app called Kaushi. No way. I gotta see this for myself. Oh my gosh, you can bet on different events too.

[Jamie Loftus]

No way. I've got to see it for myself. Episode 10 Jake Paul appears ahead of his dumbass Netflix fight and goes full Trump.

[Grant]

Then there still be the hate of oh, fight someone your own age. Because people are brain dead, actually, and they don't look at the actual facts. Which is probably why a lot of people are voting for Kamala Harris. But it's a sad world out there.

[Jamie Loftus]

In this episode, Haley's boyfriend Pookie, AKA Kelby, is revealed and immediately starts doing a sports gambling ad with her.

[Hayley Welch]

Pookie, I got a surprise for you.

[Grant]

Nothing you do surprises me anymore.

[Hayley Welch]

Game time's hooking us up. We're gonna be able to get some good tickets here. You pick. Pick your top three, and then I'll pick out of those. Can it be a game?

[Grant]

A concert?

[Hayley Welch]

I can choose anything.

[Grant]

Yeah.

[Jamie Loftus]

And speaking of Pookie, the day after he appears on Talktua, Hailey and her team launch her first and possibly her last app, called Pookie Tools. Why not? I've downloaded the app but refused to pay to use it, although most reviews indicate that while it markets itself as a dating app, it mainly seems to be an AI tool that tells you how tall someone is when you point your phone at it. And much like the podcast, it's unclear if anyone has ever actually used Pookie Tools, because all of the reviews on the App Store seem to be jokes.

[Grant]

Such as, where do I begin? This app has absolutely ruined my life. I can't believe Hayley Welch, the creator of talktua, would do this to me. I now have a court hearing for domestic violence charges against me and drunk driving, which both didn't happen. I thought this app would help me get all the huzz, but I did not. I am very disappointed, Hayley Welch. But I do love talk to her.

[Jamie Loftus]

Don't worry. The jokes become increasingly sexually violent as you scroll. Episode 11 is Wiz Khalifa promoting his bespoke weed brand. Episode 12 is Mark Cuban, who both talks to Chelsea and Pookie about how Hayley takes massive shits and more interestingly, explicitly warns Hayley Welch not to go into crypto. Check out this transition in this episode. I kind of love it, man.

[Hayley Welch]

It's rough out here.

[Grant]

It is really rough out here. But I have newfound respect for you, Haley.

[Hayley Welch]

Thank you.

[Grant]

Right?

[Hayley Welch]

Thank you.

[Grant]

Skid marks for the win.

[Hayley Welch]

Do you do anything with crypto?

[Grant]

Yeah, I do a lot with crypto, actually.

[Jamie Loftus]

Okay, let's hear the rest of the clip.

[Hayley Welch]

Oh, yeah. If I launch a meme coin, can I give you some tokens?

[Grant]

Yeah, I'll give you my wallet.

[Jamie Loftus]

I'll give you my wallet.

[Hayley Welch]

Okay.

[Grant]

Are you sure you're gonna launch? I don't know. I'm not a big fan about meme coins. I love crypto, but. But you can make some money from it. There's no doubt about it.

[Jamie Loftus]

No doubt about it. So a weird, cautious endorsement where Cuban is basically like, yeah, meme coins are a scam, but you could make money off of it. Sure enough. And on the final episode of Talktua thus far, episode 12, titled How not to Get Cancelled, released on December 3. It's not a great episode, but it might be the final episode of talktua we ever get because it was released just one day before Hayley Welch's meme coin dropped and very possibly vaporized her career altogether. Talk to A falls so a crypto scam can emerge. And that's next time on our final part of the Hawk to a trilogy on 16th minute. 16th minute is a production of Cool Zone Media and iHeartRadio. It is written, hosted and produced by me, Jamie Loftus. Our executive producers are Sophie Lichterman and Robert Evans. The Amazing Ian Johnson is our supervising producer and our editor. Our theme song is by Sad13. Voice acting is from Grant Crater and Pet Shout Outs to our dog producer Anderson. My cat's Florida and Casper and my pet Rockberg, who will outlive us all. Byeeee.

[Grant]

Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping up a seven layer dip, or ordering pizza, there's something about football that makes you want to eat. And this football season, UberEats has the best deals on game day food no matter what you're craving, from two for one Pizza to buy one get one Wings. Uber Eats will be dropping dropping new deals each week all season long. UberEats official on demand delivery partner of the NFL. Order now. Terms and conditions apply. See app for details with the best.

[Jamie Loftus]

All Inclusive Vacation Deals to Mexico and the Caribbean Booking your getaway with Cheap Caribbean Vacations means you have more freedom to do your deal. Whether you want to enjoy snorkeling, endless margaritas and more, or simply soak up the sun and sand in a tropical paradise, Cheap Caribbean Vacations has your deal for that. Plan and book the exact getaway you want at exactly the right price for you by using our exclusive Budget Beach Finder. Or find a featured all inclusive package to Ocean by H10Hotels and do your [e-mail] the New Year's Here, it's the perfect time to refresh those household essentials and score some cash back rewards with Colgate Palmolive. From toothpaste to dish soap, chances are you've got Colgate Palmolive products on your shopping list and in your house. Right now we're talking brands like Colgate Soft Soap, Palmolive, Irish Spring, Fabuloso, and Tom's of Maine. And right now you can get up to a $10 digital Visa prepaid card when you buy up to $30 of Colgate Palmolive products. Here's how it spend $20 on their products, get $5 spend $30 get a $10 reward. All you do is shop your favorite brands snap a pic of your receipt and upload it to cprewards.com it's so easy. That's cprewards.com so grab what you need. Or maybe try something new and get rewarded just for doing your usual shopping. And start your year fresh by earning cash back rewards with Colgate Palmolive rewards available while supplies last, limit supply us only 1125 through 33125. For full terms and conditions, visit cprewards.com hey, Jenice Torres here and I'm Austin Henkwitz. We're the hosts of Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories produced by Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Catch up on seasons one and two and join us for a brand new season of the podcast as we talk to small business owners about how they manage and grow their businesses with the help of platforms like Intuit QuickBooks.

[Grant]

Listen to mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.