Nicki Minaj-Inspired Challenge Leaves Influencer With Serious Spinal Fracture

Wed, August 6, 2025 at 3:00 PM

A viral Nicki Minaj-inspired challenge is being blamed for leaving an aspiring Russian influencer with a broken spine.

The injured woman, 32-year-old Mariana Barutkina (also known as Mariana Vasiuc), is a new mother from Yekaterinburg who was just weeks postpartum when she says she attempted the "Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge."

The risky trend involves recreating a crouched pose from Minaj's 2013 "High School" music video while balancing in high heels - often on unstable objects.

In Barutkina's case, she balanced one stiletto-clad foot on a jar of baby formula perched atop a saucepan on her kitchen counter while attempting a one-legged squat.

The prop slipped, sending her crashing backwards off the counter and landing hard on her back.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Мариана | материнства | живу жизнь (@mariana_vasiuc)

Doctors diagnosed her with a compression fracture of her T9 vertebra, a serious injury she described on Instagram as a "'Th9 compression bending uncomplicated fracture of the body.'"

"I decided to start blogging - the first content shooting - and here I am leaving the doctor diagnosed with a fracture," she wrote in a translated post, adding, "The irony? Karma? Or just life, which always tests our strength at the most unexpected moment."

Despite the injury, Barutkina says she has no regrets, pointing out that the failed stunt went viral.

"Because of one video," she wrote, "I woke up a popular person. More than 50 people sent me my reel from different publications today. I'm doing great, following the guidelines and now living in 'star' status."

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Мариана | материнства | живу жизнь (@mariana_vasiuc)

The "stiletto challenge" has sparked safety concerns as participants balance on items like bottles, dumbbells, or traffic cones to mimic Minaj's pose.