‘First Home Depot girl Now Hawk Tuah’: Fans Call Shaquille O’Neal a ‘Menace’ After He Was Spotted with a Viral Influencer
Former NBA player and sometime DJ Shaquille O’Neal is known to get the party started and he knews how to keep it going. But many are calling the 7-foot-1 divorcé and bachelor a “menace” for linking with another social media influencer.
O’Neal was spotted in Nashville mixing records at a rooftop bar in Nashville Sunday night. But he wasn’t alone, thanks to fans who took dozens of videos of him partying with Hailey Welch, aka Hawk Tauh.
Many people don’t know who Welch is, but the Tennessee native recently went viral giving a man-on-the-street interview with Tim & Dee TV while attending the CMA Fest, according to The Cut.
The host asked Welch, “What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?” She promptly and comically responded, “You gotta give ’em that ‘hawk tuah’ and spit on that thang.”
Within cyber minutes she became a social media famous. Days later, Welch is still enjoying her insta-fame, and it paid off her big time on Sunday, June 30, while attending a guest DJ night at Jon Bon Jovi’s new JBJ’s Nashville restaurant. On the wheels of steel was the former Lakers player — who goes by the name of DJ Diesel when spinning records.
Somehow the two crossed paths and, according to TMZ, they not only talked for a bit and snapped some pictures but made an act out of the chance meeting.
♬ original sound – Redneck_Revival
The “I’m Outstanding” recording artist invited her to the DJ booth and passed her the mic.
Welch took to social media to share with her 388K followers that she was with the four-time NBA champion, posting twice over a few days.
In the first post, she captioned a side-by-side collage of a photograph of them looking at each other as well as a posse pic with her girl “Chillin’ with the Big Diesel.”
Her followers chimed in the comment section of the first post.
“RUN HAILEY! ITS TOO BIG!” one person said, as another asked, “Did you shaq tuah him ?”
A third comment quipped, “Look at you go girl who would have thought that one phrase could open up so many doors enjoy it.”
In her second post, Shaq is behind with his right hand guiding her hand with his left hand across her front. Her caption for this one was, “Learning to shoot with @shaq … Apparently, his accuracy is as elusive as a rare remix!”
“The only thing more accurate is the hawk tuah,” one person joked.
Then a few made reference to Shaq as a ladies man with a particular interest.
“Shaq always loved them young,” one person said.
Another added he amps up his charm: “Shaq get around a fine women and act like he was Curry on the court.”
Over the years he has been linked to a few women, and people consider him a savage for doing so. His followers said this is no different.
After, Shaq tweeted a picture of the two that said, “Guess who I found in Nashville,” and had a mischievous grin, many chimed in clowning.
Guess who I found in Nashville… pic.twitter.com/mowBYUt6TD
— DJ Diesel (@djdiesel) July 1, 2024
One person made reference to another social media influencer who actually lost her job after posting that Shaq slid in her DMs.
Ariana Cossie says she had to quit her job after a photo of her in Home Depot uniform went viral. (Photo: Twitter/@ariijosephine)
“First Home Depot girl now Hawk Tuah Shaq a Menace,” the person joked.
The Home Depot girl is not the most recent woman that has been in the Nasty Que Dawg’s purview. In June 2023 he was spotted out at a hotel with model Brittany Renner — a woman whose gold-digging reputation is so renowned that coach Deion “Prime Time” Sanders invited her to educate his Jackson State team about the game women run on athletes.
If there is a game to be played, Shaq is pretty well prepared. A career athlete that became a Hall of Famer before turning 50, he is used to peeping strategy and knows how to win.
The 52-year-old also knows how to set a goal and drive hard to get what he wants using his charm. Maybe Welch is next.