"The Making Of Bhad Bhabie" -- Vice News, 2018, 6:04 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGRogdyUzSk

Thanks to criminologist Robert Merton, we have the tools available to understand why the "cash me outside girl" (Danielle Bregoli) has risen to fame, even going as far as to secure a major recording deal. Merton said that when there is a disjunction between a society's goals and the means to achieve said goals, deviance is likely to occur. He ultimately came up with 5 typologies of deviance based around whether or not an individual accepts society's definition of success and whether or not they gain such success through standard avenues (i.e., hard work and dedication). Conformists accept both the goals and the means, but innovators only accept the goals while rejecting the means.

Danielle Bregoli is a shining example of a Mertonian innovator. She cursed off Dr. Phil, disrespected the live studio audience, fought with her mother in front of millions of people, and has become a celebrity in doing so. Think of the fools who spend their whole lives courting the music industry in earnest attempts to become the next breakout star... Most fail despite the tremendous efforts they put forth. But this girl seems to have secured the dream by doing the complete opposite of what polite society would deem acceptable. Love her or hate her, "Bhad Bhabie" teaches us that innovation is alive and well in American society. Personally, I admire anyone who can put Dr. Phil in his plce. 

From the video's description: Bhad Bhabie's hip-hop career began as most do, because she'd committed crimes. While the crimes in question were typical of an aspiring rapper (car theft, knife threats), the fact that she committed them at age 13 was fairly atypical, as was their immediate consequence: an appearance on the Dr. Phil show. If you're unsure who we're talking about here, perhaps the phrase "Cash me outside" will jog your memory? Yep, that's her. Riding the viral wave of her sudden internet notoriety, the Cash Me Outside Girl, née Danielle Bregoli, took up rap music, signed a contract with Atlantic Records, and re-re-christened herself Bhad Bhaby. And the weirdest part of all is, she's good. Not just good at rapping (though that in itself is a pleasant surprise) but just generally good. Like a good kid. Look, we'd be rolling our eyes too, but we visited her and her record-label minders out in the desert where she was shooting her first big-budget music video, fully expecting a classic Florida wild child, flush with cash and fame and behaving as badly and babylike as her stage name portends. Instead what we met was an extremely sweet, extremely excited teenager who is about as well-mannered, gracious, and nice to be around as any musician we've ever met. Even if she does swear like 2 Live Crew."