What is the viral Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge? Russian influencer reportedly left with broken spine while attempting the stunt

Russian influencer Mariana Barutkina is making headlines after she broke her spine trying to participate in the viral Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge.

In the new viral trend, influencers try to balance themselves on various items while wearing stilettos or any other pair of high heels. It pays homage to Nicki Minaj, who first performed the pose in her 2013 High School music video.

The influencer Imanni (@uwantaqua) first started the trend, as she balanced her body on top of a dumbbell. Quickly, other creators started recreating it with their twist. So far, people have tried it with various items, including kitchen utensils, staircases, pottery equipment, and stools.

Mariana Barutkina shared her video on Instagram, trying the viral Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge on July 31. The since-deleted behind-the-scenes video showed the 32-year-old standing on top of a small saucepan and a can of baby formula, wearing heels.

Mariana Barutkina lost her balance and fell on the kitchen floor.

In the caption of the post, she wrote in Russian that she ended up with a broken spine. Finding humor in the situation, she wondered if it was her "karma" or "irony."

"TREND OR WHOLE SPINE? 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 [the] body." Irony? Karma? Or just life, which always tests our strength at the most unexpected moment," the caption read.

Influencer Mariana Vasiuc broke her spine while attempting the Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge, just eight weeks after giving birth. pic.twitter.com/mSLrkoLdFJ

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 5, 2025

Mariana Barutkina has over 1,300 followers on Instagram. She is the mother of two children. Her second baby, Oscar, was born on June 2, 2025. Mariana broke her spine eight weeks after giving birth.

Mariana Barutkina responded to her Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge, making headlines

Mariana Barutkina has now deleted her original video. However, she made a response video on August 3, 2025. The influencer added a clip of the video with screenshots of various media outlets' articles about her accident.

In the caption, she seemingly joked that she became a "famous" person due to the Nicki Minaj stiletto challenge video, and over 50 people sent her numerous articles written about her.

She jokingly said that she was enjoying her newfound fame and was currently doing fine, following the doctors' guidelines. Mariana stated that she would not do any interviews with journalists.

She also told her followers that her infant son, Oscar, is "calm" as he has two nannies, one of whom was with him the day the accident happened.

"People, thank you for your popularity, for your concerns and for your comments. I'm doing great, following the guidelines and now living in "star" status. P.S. There will be no reports and communication with journalists! Whoever worries about my child is also calm, he has two nannies and while I was filming one of them was with him," she wrote in her caption.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Мариана | материнства | живу жизнь (@mariana_vasiuc)

In other news, Nicki Minaj has participated in the challenge. On August 5, the rapper uploaded the video on Instagram. She wrote in the caption that her Chanel black dress didn't help her, and she would do the challenge again in another dress.