When “For the Gram” Goes Wrong: The Nicki Minaj Pose That Broke a Back

Alright, let’s talk about the flipside of these viral internet stunts. Remember Nicki Minaj’s iconic pose in her 2013 “High School” video? Well this summer, it sparked a dangerous trend—and things did not end well for one new mom. Russian influencer Mariana Barutkina, who had just given birth weeks earlier, tried to recreate the stiletto pose for the ‘Gram. She perched herself on a jar of baby formula balanced on a saucepan atop her kitchen counter—yes, it was that wild. Naturally, the pot slipped, she fell backward, and ended up with a compression fracture in her T9 vertebra. She’s now wearing a corset for the next three months.  .

Doctors have since weighed in—warning that the hyper-flexed position in stilettos puts intense strain on joints, and if you fall like Mariana did, you could wind up with a spinal injury—or worse.  . The internet collectively gasped—and rightly so.

A Walk Down the Dangerous Memory Lane: Viral Challenges That Didn’t Age Well

Let’s keep it real—viral challenges have always been a thing… sometimes a dumb, reckless thing. Here’s a look back at some challenges we probably shouldn’t have tried:

Milk Challenge
Shot a whole carton of milk in your mouth and try not to spit it back out. A whole lot of choking and gagging guaranteed.Ice Bucket Challenge
We were freezing for a cause—ALS awareness. Fast forward, and now it’s mostly a nostalgic memory of public humiliation… with a good heart behind it.

Cinnamon Challenge
One spoon of cinnamon and immediately coughing up your insides. Risk of aspiration? Mad real.

Milk Crate Challenge
Stack and climb milk crates. A guaranteed faceplant—or worse—if you slip. It’s as terrifying as it looks.

Mani Can Challenge (a fresh twist to “mannequin challenge”)
You freeze like a mannequin while a camera rolls. Chill and harmless—unless someone trips over you mid-freeze.

Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge
Used suction to make your lips temporarily plump. The result? Swollen, bruised, sometimes even infected lips. Beauty was pain—literally.

Planking
Lay face down like a board in random places. It looked dumb, got boring fast, and was usually… just flat-out weird.

Bottom line? Yeah, a lot of these challenges were fun to watch—or repost—but most of them came with a side of “maybe I shouldn’t try that.” Mariana’s injury is a reminder: some internet moments are just not worth the risk.

Stay safe out there. It’s cool to trend—but way cooler to live to see tomorrow’s trends.