'Squid Game: The Challenge' player Spencer Hawkins reacts to his viral gagging moment, and spills behind-the-scenes secrets from the cookie game

• A scene from "Squid Game: The Challenge" has gone viral on social media.
• In the clip, player Spencer Hawkins gags and curls up into a ball after losing the cookie challenge.

"Squid Game: The Challenge" contestant Spencer Hawkins — player 299 — has responded to a viral clip of him crying and gagging after being eliminated from the show.

In the show's second challenge, "Dalgona," contestants have to cut a shape out of a cookie using only a needle. If they break the cookie, they are eliminated.

In the second episode, a stressed Hawkins can be seen gagging throughout the challenge and ultimately curling into a ball on the floor after breaking his cookie.

Hawkins' dramatic exit has been viewed over 80 million times on X, formerly known as Twitter, since Sunday.

Prior to playing the game, Hawkins was put in the unenviable position of having to choose which shape he and a quarter of the remaining contestants would cut out of their cookies. Hawkins was saddled with the most difficult shape: an umbrella.

So, going into the game, Hawkins said in a TikTok video posted Monday, he was already feeling anxious.

"I had a little bit of a history with anxiety," Hawkins said. "I didn't expect anything weird to happen when I got on the show, but then I was put in a position where I needed to make a choice for myself and for dozens of other people that would affect whether they would receive millions of dollars."

"In that situation, I responded in a weird way. I started gagging. I was not acting. No, I do not deserve an Oscar. And yes, it was all embarrassing and real," Hawkins continued.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly last week, the contestant also attributed the now-viral moment to how demanding the day was on set.

Hawkins said he had to wait a number of hours alone after he made the decision to pick the umbrella cookie for his group.

"In that time, I was trying to get into the mental headspace to be able to prepare for the game, drinking lots of water while trying to save up spit in my mouth, so I was getting physically exhausted while also feeling all the emotions of everything," Hawkins said. "And then finally, it's time to come into the room, and there's not much energy left."

In a series of TikTok videos posted since Monday, Hawkins has also shared more insights into his time on "Squid Game: The Challenge," including behind-the-scenes moments fans won't see on the show.

Hawkins says that players were not allowed to play a game to decide which shape cookie they'd get

Before playing "Dalgona," the contestants were instructed to get into four lines, with each group assigned a different shape to cut out of their cookie.

After two sets of previous group leaders failed to reach a consensus, Hawkins and the three contestants at the front of the other lines ultimately decided on the shape for their groups.

Some fans have wondered why Hawkins and company didn't just play a game like rock, paper, scissors to decide who'd get the hardest shape.

"We were told we needed to agree on a decision and we couldn't do so by playing a game," Hawkins said in another TikTok video on Monday.

Hawkins says he wasn't bullied into picking the umbrella cookie

In another TikTok video, Hawkins said that while the other three group leaders tried to push him toward the umbrella when it came time to choose shapes, he wasn't forced into the decision.

"I think I already made that decision before I walked into the room, and you can see that when I started crying before I got into the room," he said. "Ultimately I wasn't going to put the decision of picking umbrella onto anyone else. And so I don't feel like I was bullied into making that decision specifically."

Hawkins says other contestants in his group were 'rude' because of his decision

In yet another video, Hawkins revealed that some of the players in the umbrella group weren't too happy with his decision to pick the umbrella.

"People were saying some rude things, for sure," he said, adding that only one remark — someone calling him an "idiot" — made it into the episode.

Hawkins went on to say they he also made some friends in the umbrella group.

"I've actually met up with a lot of people from the umbrella room since the show. Wonderful people. Love them all and I look forward to seeing them again," he said in another video.

"Squid Game: The Challenge" is on Netflix.