"Irony? Karma?": Influencer Mariana Barutkina suffers spinal injury after attempting the viral Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge

A TikTok trend inspired by a decade-old Nicki Minaj music video has left mom influencer Mariana Barutkina with a serious spinal injury. Known for her lifestyle content, she recently attempted the viral “stiletto challenge."

In a video posted to Instagram, Mariana Barutkina is seen wearing stilettos while perched on top of a tub of baby formula and a saucepan. As someone holds her hand off-camera for support, she tries to balance on a kitchen counter.

However, the attempt was short-lived as the saucepan shifted, then she toppled backward.

In a now-deleted post, Mariana Barutkina detailed the aftermath:

“Irony? Karma? Or just life, which always tests our strength at the most unexpected moment.”

She added that the fall resulted in a compression flexion fracture to her spine.

Mariana Barutkina, who recently gave birth, later updated followers with a more humorous take on the failed challenge:

“More than 50 people sent me my reel from different publications today.”

She continued in a follow-up post:

“I’m doing great, following the guidelines and now living in 'star' status"

"Social clout ain’t worth spinal clout": Online users respond to Mariana Barutkina's injury

The internet erupted with a flurry of reactions after Mariana Barutkina's dangerous attempt at the Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge garnered widespread attention.

"From viral to vertebrae, social clout ain’t worth spinal clout," an X (formerly Twitter) user wrote.

"Never trust the madness," another commented.

"I blame.... no one but her for doing something stupid when she should be more careful now that she is a mother," one said.

"Y’all need to be very careful doing trends like these," another chimed in.

"This challenge genuinely needs to stop, people literally put themselves in dangerous positions just for interactions..." one echoed.

"This is sad but i don’t see how the challenge got to this," another added.

The Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge, explained

The stiletto trend, which started as a homage to Nicki Minaj’s poolside pose, has spiraled into increasingly daring challenges.

In this trend, participants try to balance in high heels atop unstable objects, all in tribute to Minaj’s now-iconic pose in her 2013 High School video featuring Lil Wayne.

A viral video from a Denver-based spa now has over 61 million views on TikTok, where a nail technician balances on nail polish bottles in gold heels.

"Challenge accepted! This was so fun," the salon captioned.

In another attempt, a fitness influencer sits on five stacked dumbbells, while in black stilettos. It has now acquired over 65,000 hearts and 799,000 views since its upload last July.

Others have attempted the stunt using items like a Spam container, a toy racetrack, and even a surfboard.

On TikTok, the hashtag #nickiminajchallenge has more than 137,000 posts, highlighting its viral success.

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