Influencer’s Daring Nicki Minaj Stiletto Challenge Ends in Shocking Spinal Injury—What Happened Next Will Surprise You
Well, isn’t this just a spine-tingling tale for the TikTok hall of fame? The latest craze, known as the “Nicki Minaj High School Challenge,” is all about perching precariously in stiletto heels—because balancing on danger seems to be the new black. Enter Mariana Vasiuc, a 32-year-old aspiring influencer, who took a daring stab at this high-heeled feat only to find herself with a fractured spine. Ouch, right? But wait—did the challenge really break her back, or is this just another drama cooked up in the quest for viral fame? As the internet buzzes with skepticism and sass, this story unravels into a cautionary, and frankly hilarious, look at social media stunts gone sideways. Buckle up—it’s quite the fall, both literally and figuratively. LEARN MORE
The latest TikTok challenge has seemingly resulted in a fractured spine for a 32 year old woman.
The so-called “Nicki Minaj High School Challenge” is prompting people to balance on things while wearing stiletto high heels.
In one of the most talked-about instances, Mariana Vasiuc, who’s trying to build her career as an influencer, attempted the challenge, but fell, saying she fractured her spine.
- A 32-year-old woman has gone viral for attempting, and failing, the current social media “high heel” challenge.
- People have been performing the challenge, based on a Nicki Minaj video from 2013 in which she squats, with her legs crossed, wearing extremely high heels.
- Netizens call foul on the woman, saying she likely made up the story just to build up her budding influencer career.
Some people are calling foul, saying she made up parts of the story just for attention.
The latest social media challenge involves balancing while wearing stilettos
Image credits: mariana_vasiuc
Image credits: mariana_vasiuc
It might be the TikTok challenge of the summer, but for 32-year-old Mariana Vasiuc, it’s been a dangerous one too.
In her 2013 video for her song High School Minaj poses in high heels, by the side of a pool.
Image credits: Nicki Minaj
She’s wearing stiletto high heels and has squatted down, legs crossed, balancing precariously, on both feet.
This is the “challenge” that people are trying to recreate, many times, perched atop something else, even though Minaj’s original pose was on the ground.
For Vasiuc, the challenge reportedly landed her in the hospital.
Mariana Vasiuc attempts the challenge with terrible results
Image credits: mariana_vasiuc
The video starts with Vasiuc in a kitchen.
She’s in black heels and is trying to do the pose on top of a container of baby formula, which is on top of a saucepan, which is on top of the kitchen counter.
She’s steadying herself while holding someone’s hand.
Steady… steady….then she releases the hand, and falls backward. The video ends with Vasiuc in mid-air.
“Irony? Karma? Or just life”: Maria Vasiuc says she injured herself while attempting the challenge
Image credits: mariana_vasiuc
The 32-year-old posted the clip to her Instagram account with the caption:
“I decided to start blogging, the first content shooting – and here I am leaving the doctor diagnosed with “Th9 compression bending uncomplicated fracture of the body”
Her post went on to ask: “Irony? Karma ? Or just life, which always tests our strength at the most unexpected moment. 🤣”
Image credits: mariana_vasiuc
“If interested, I will tell you in detail in stories, how the shooting went and what happened next,” although those details do not appear anywhere else on her IG page, or in any other news stories.
The video went viral, with several publications picking up the story.
A few days later, she once again posted the clip of her fall, but this time with screenshots of all the headlines of publications that had covered the story.
The caption read: “Because of one video, which was unsuccessfully filmed, I woke up a popular person. More than 50 people sent me my reel from different publications today…” Vasiuc wrote.
“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,” the caption read.
Image credits: mariana_vasiuc
She closed the post with a message saying that she will not be speaking to journalists.
She also noted that her newborn son “is also calm, he has two nannies and while I was filming one of them was with him,” explaining that her weeks-old child was not unattended during her fall and subsequent hospital trip.
“Stupid challenge=stupid people”: Netizens react to Vasiuc’s fall while attempting the challenge
Image credits: mariana_vasiuc
Netizens are having a field day over the post.
Several people pointed out that in the original music video, Minaj is on the ground, not delicately balanced on anything.
“The thing people keep overlooking is Nikki was on flat ground with BOTH feet planted,” one netizen wrote.
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