At the beginning of this week, the internet learned that Mystikal wasn’t the only person walking the earth who is more than willing to fight a bear. Thanks to a viral video on TikTok, millions of people were able to see a Southern California teenager fend off a bear that was balancing on a fence in her backyard and fighting with her dogs.
The young woman, 17-year-old Hailey Morinico, was ultimately successful in her efforts to save her pets, and of course, her filmed interaction with the bear sparked several social media reactions that dredged up memories of Mystikal’s iconic “On Da Spot Freestyle,” in which he famously rapped, “If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly Bear, help the bear!”
@bakedlikepie My cousin Hailey yeeted a bear off her fence today and saved her dogs. How was your Memorial Day?! (WTF?!) #ohno#badass#brave#fight#bear
Days after the original video went viral, Hailey Morinico has publicly spoken out about the situation during an interview with ABC7 Los Angeles.
“Honestly, I did not know it was a bear,” the 17-year-old reveals. “Until right after I pushed it, I didn’t register in my head that it was a bear. I was like ‘It’s an animal, and it’s taking my child.'”
Apparently, Morinico simply felt compelled to protect her dog, which she refers to as her child. When speaking of her Mystikal-esque moment, she said, “I pushed the bear and I was like ‘Oh my god, I just pushed a bear!’ I didn’t want to know what would happen if the bear hurt her or even took her, so I had to do what I had to do.”
Fortunately, Hailey Morinico survived her close encounter with the bear, and she reportedly only suffered two minor injuries: scrapes on her knees and a sprained finger on the hand that she used to push the bear.