YouTube Hawk Tuah video from 16 years ago goes viral, internet reacts: "Give this man 13m dollars"

A 16-year-old YouTube Hawk Tuah video goes viral, sparking internet reactions and renewed fascination.

In June, the phrase "Hawk Tuah" gained widespread popularity on TikTok as an onomatopoeic term mimicking the sound of someone spitting. This followed an interview where two YouTubers stopped passerby Hailey Welch for a chat.

When asked, “What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?” she humorously responded: "Oh, you gotta give him that 'hawk tuah' and spit on that thing, you get me?"

Welch’s playful delivery and use of onomatopoeia quickly caught the attention of social media, making "Hawk Tuah" go viral. Recently, a 16-year-old YouTube video resurfaced and began trending after it was recommended by the platform's algorithm, leading to a significant spike in views. By November 30, the video had amassed over 2,900,000 views.

The clip, uploaded by a user named tomasaurus2 on February 12, 2008, is 34 seconds long and captioned: “Hawk tuah”

The video’s description adds: “20 feet from our living room window a Cooper's hawk ate a pigeon on a telephone pole. This is on Capitol Hill in Seattle.”

After gaining renewed attention, commenters flocked to the video’s section, amused by the coincidental title, despite the clip being unrelated to the viral TikTok trend.

One viewer jokingly speculated that the uploader must be a "time traveler" for seemingly predicting the future 16 years before the phrase gained popularity.

Other commenters shared similar sentiments, with one noting how "hilarious" it was for the clip to resurface after so many years, while another quipped that the video had been "waiting for someone to visit it."

One netizen referred to the uploader as a “prophet” for allegedly foreseeing the phrase's viral moment. Another suggested the uploader should start their own podcast, much like Hailey Welch now has.

For those unfamiliar, Hailey Welch was approached by YouTube duo Tim and Dee TV on June 9, 2024, while walking along Broadway during Nashville's CMA Fest. The duo was creating street interviews by asking random people engaging questions.