Haliey Welch, otherwise known as the "Hawk Tuah Girl," has addressed the backlash from the "baseball community" following her appearance at the New York Mets.
The viral star was the team's special guest on Thursday, throwing out the first pitch ahead of their game against Oakland Athletics.
She has now spoken out on social media after it was awash with criticism over the decision to give her a starring role at Citi Field.
Addressing her 2.3 million Instagram followers on Friday, the 22-year-old explained the "main reason" why she agreed to the opportunity.
Welch revealed she was raising awareness of the nonprofit organization America's VetDogs, alongside a video that showed her meeting a service dog called Buddy and being told how the organization pairs such dogs with first responders and veterans with disabilities.
She wrote: "So I guess the baseball community wasn't too happy to see me yesterday.
"That's okay, the main reason I went to the game was to spread awareness and donate to America's Vet Dogs @americasvetdogs, which pairs dogs with war veterans for a forever home."
Welch added: "Join me in donating to this amazing charity I'll have the link in my story. I miss ya already Buddy."
Asked by Newsweek about the response to her appearance, Welch said: "We went to a baseball game yesterday to do good and get more eyes on helping veterans and animals.
"I also got to throw the first pitch, but at the end of the day, it's about helping people and pets. And that's what I want to focus on and keep doing."
Her Instagram update has so far gained over 20,000 likes and hundreds of comments from those supporting her, after she was thrust into the spotlight by a now-infamous video. It saw her answer a question by Tim & Dee TV—two YouTubers who conduct street interviews—about her sex life.
One Instagram user wrote of her Mets appearance: "Gotta love Miss Welch for using her platform for important causes like these!"
Another said: "Na, don't let those haters get to you - they will hate someone for no reason. You do you - it's cool. Kind regards."
A third person added: "Some are hyper focused on what got you here. Just a silly little joke. We needed this distraction! Don't let 'them' dampen your spirit."
It comes after social media users suggested Tennessee native Welch's appearance was inappropriate and criticized the Mets over their choice.
Alongside a clip of the moment in question, Chris Jastrzembski wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "Hope they go winless the rest of the season."
Writer Paul Schwartz said, "We have 120 Olympic medalists and you chose her? Seriously?"
A third X user wrote, "So the @Mets decided to get the Hawk Tuah Girl to throw out the 1st pitch for a summer 'camp day' day game where the vast majority of fans are 11 year old kids at the ballpark on camp trips. Seriously what were they thinking? Be better than this. #LGM."
Another said, "All the kids at the baseball game asking their parents and friends what did this girl do to get to throw out the first pitch? Do better MLB! This is not a roll model!"
Newsweek has contacted the New York Mets via email for comment.
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