An influencer’s attempt to recreate a viral challenge, inspired by Nicki Minaj, resulted in a severe injury.
The ‘stiletto challenge’ has recently become quite popular on social media, stemming from a pose featured in Minaj’s 2013 music video for ‘High School.’
In the video, Nicki Minaj is seen wearing high, sparkling heels next to a pool. She demonstrates her balance by crouching in the stilettos, crossing one leg over the other, and maintaining the pose with both feet touching the ground.
While Minaj executes the move from the ground, TikTok users have escalated the trend by balancing on unusual household items, often positioning themselves on elevated surfaces like tables or countertops.
As anticipated, a particular influencer ended up in the emergency room with a significant injury after attempting the challenge.
Marina Barutkina from Russia decided to balance on a jar of baby formula, placed on top of a pan on her kitchen counter, while wearing stilettos and holding a large canister of food.
Unfortunately, Marina’s attempt resulted in a fall, as she plummeted from the counter to the floor seconds later.
The video, posted on August 1, quickly went viral globally. Despite her newfound “star status,” Marina is now dealing with a compression flexion fracture in her spine from the incident.
Marina, a mother who had given birth just eight weeks before her accident, shared on Instagram: “I decided to start a blog, my first content shoot — and here I am leaving the doctor’s with a diagnosis.”
“Irony? Karma? Or just life, which always tests our strength at the most unexpected moment,” she pondered.
She mentioned that her social media account would continue to focus on ‘life’ and ‘happy motherhood,’ providing ‘motivation to move forward’ despite her injury.
Following the incident, Marina received some sharp criticism, with many commentors questioning her decision to participate in the challenge instead of focusing on her newborn.
In a follow-up post, she stated, “Because of one video, which was poorly filmed, I woke up as a popular person. People, thank you for the popularity, for your concerns and for your comments. I am doing great, I am following the recommendations and now I live in the status of a ‘star.’”
“For those who are worried about my child, I will also reassure you, he has two nannies and while I was filming, one of them was with him,” she assured her audience.
The incident might have caught Nicki Minaj’s attention as well, as she addressed ‘that pose’ in an Instagram video days later.
Demonstrating her expertise 12 years after the music video, Minaj performed the stunt in sky-high stilettos with ease.
She even included some outtakes for her fans, suggesting it took her several tries to perfect the pose.
In her caption, Minaj noted: “Dear Barbz, about that pose…. Ummm this Chanel dress was just a tad shorter than I thought & the thongs definitely didn’t help. Didn’t want to make it explicit.”
Minaj clarified the challenge’s rules, emphasizing that it isn’t about balancing on one leg.
“Both feet on the ground tho. Ten toes,” she specified. “Ima put on a diff outfit that won’t show so much skin & do it again for you guys later. Love.”