Influencer Breaks Back Attempting Nicki Minaj-Inspired Stiletto Challenge

Key Takeaways:

• The TikTok stiletto challenge inspired by Nicki Minaj’s “High School” has gone viral for its risky moves and visual flair.
• Russian influencer Mariana Barutkina attempted the challenge just weeks after giving birth and fractured her spine.
• The incident has sparked conversations about influencer culture and clout chasing.

Participating in trends can sometimes be harmful. Case in point: a Russian woman who attempted the Nicki Minaj-inspired stiletto trend fell and ended up in the hospital — and it was caught on video.

Influencer Mariana Barutkina injured herself while participating in the viral challenge, which requires you to pose cross-legged in stilettos, squatting and balancing on one foot, like Nicki Minaj in her 2013 “High School” music video. In an Instagram video posted on Friday (Aug. 1), the 32-year-old is seen attempting the pose while balancing atop a bottle of baby formula and a saucepan on a countertop.

Though it initially appeared like she was about to pull off the bold stunt, things went left when she slipped and fell backward. That’s all we saw before the camera stops tracking her movement for the sake of making sure she’s okay, we assume. Yes, there was a woman assisting her by holding her hand, but gravity was not losing this battle. Barutkina, who had just given birth a couple of months ago, reportedly fractured her spine.

“I decided to start blogging, the first content shooting — and here I am leaving the doctor diagnosed with ‘Th9 compression bending uncomplicated fracture of the body,’” she captioned her Instagram post (translated from Russian). “The irony? Karma? Or just life, which always tests our strength at the most unexpected moment.”

It’s all fun and games, until you’re in a hospital. In a follow up post, Barutkina shared that she is fine while commenting on her newfound “fame.” “People, thank you for your popularity, for your concerns and for your comments,” she wrote. “I’m doing great, following the guidelines and now living in ‘star’ status.”

One of the first stars to successfully pull off the challenge that caught fire on TikTok was Ciara. Other celebrities who joined in on the challenge include “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Porsha Williams and Angela Simmons. In fact, even Nicki Minaj herself recently participated in the very trend she unwittingly inspired, as Rap-Up previously reported.