A Russian mom and influencer ended up with serious spinal injuries after attempting a viral TikTok challenge set to Nicki Minaj’s song “High School.”
While celebs like Ciara have flawlessly nailed the challenge — which mimics a squatting pose Nicki struck in the “High School” music video — 32-year-old Mariana Barutkina wasn’t so lucky. She landed in the hospital after things went horribly wrong.
In a clip posted to Instagram on Thursday, July 31, Barutkina tried to recreate the pose while wearing stilettos and balancing on a stack of baby formula and a saucepan. But just eight weeks postpartum, her attempt quickly spiraled. She lost her balance, reached out to grab the woman helping her, and crashed to the kitchen floor — resulting in a fractured spine.
“TREND OR WHOLE SPINE?” Barutkina captioned her post, translated from Russian. “I decided to start a blog, first content shoot — and here I am leaving the doctor with a diagnosis of ‘uncomplicated compression flexion fracture of the body.’”
She went on to add, “Irony? Karma? Or just life, which always tests our strength at the most unexpected moment.”
Though she’s passed on doing interviews about the cringe-worthy accident, Barutkina seems to be leaning into her unexpected viral fame, even referring to her new “star” status in her post.
“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.”
If you want to vibe to Nicki Minaj safely from the comfort of your own home, you can grab her albums — Pink Friday, The Pinkprint, and Queen — on CD and vinyl over at Complex Shop.
