Danielle Peskowitz Bregoli[1][2] (born March 26, 2003),[3] known professionally as Bhad Bhabie (/bædˈbeɪbiː/, "bad baby"), is an American rapper and Internet personality from Boynton Beach, Florida. During her appearance on the talk show Dr. Phil in September 2016, she uttered the phrase, "Cash me outside, how 'bout that?", for which she became best known. Due to its brief viral recognition and meme status, the remark led to merchandising, and her to capitalize on the attention with a career in recording artistry.[4][5]
Her 2017 debut single, "These Heaux", peaked at number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made Bregoli the youngest female rapper to have a song enter the chart.[6][7] She then signed with Atlantic Records to re-release the song along with its follow-up singles "Hi Bich" and "Gucci Flip Flops" (featuring Lil Yachty), both of which moderately entered the chart and received platinum certifications by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Both also led to the release of her debut mixtape, 15 (2018), which was critically panned and failed to chart.
Life and career
2003–2015: Early life and background
Bregoli was born and raised in Boynton Beach, Florida.[8] Her parents, Ira Peskowitz and Barbara Ann Bregoli, dated for a year before Barbara became pregnant, later separating when she was an infant. She is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent through her father and Italian descent through her mother.[9][10][11] Bregoli was raised in a Catholic household primarily by her mother and is estranged from her father, a deputy who works for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.[12][13][14] Through her father, she has two younger half-brothers.[15]
2016–2017: Dr. Phil appearance, rehab, and legal issues
On September 14, 2016, Bregoli and her mother Barbara Ann were interviewed on Dr. Phil for a segment titled "I Want to Give Up My Car-Stealing, Knife-Wielding, Twerking 13-Year-Old Daughter Who Tried to Frame Me for a Crime". They appeared on the show to discuss Bregoli's behavior, which included stealing a crew member's car while the episode was being filmed. When Bregoli became irritated at the audience's laughter, she responded to them by saying, "Catch me outside, how about that?", challenging them to a fight outside the studio. Her affected accent made the phrase sound like "Cash me ousside, how bout dah", which became a meme, and Bregoli became known as the "'Cash Me Outside' Girl".[16][17][18][19] On February 10, 2017, Bregoli reappeared on the show, but without a studio audience due to the response at her previous appearance.[20] Her first appearance on the show, and the catchphrase it spawned, would inspire a single based on the clip ("Cash Me Outside") which was recorded by DJ Suede The Remix God and entered the BillboardHot 100, Streaming Songs, and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts in its March 4, 2017, issue. The song, in turn, led to a series of dance videos that were uploaded onto YouTube.[21]
Bregoli and her mother sued three companies for "infringing her intellectual property rights" by using her signature catchphrase without consent. She also threatened to sue Walmart for using her catchphrase on T-shirts.[22] She was nominated for the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards in the "Trending" category based on the catchphrase.[23]
Following her appearance on Dr. Phil, Bregoli spent time at the Turn-About Ranch, a facility for "troubled teens" in Escalante, Utah. She was later arrested and pleaded guilty to charges of grand theft, marijuana possession, and filing a false police report, for which she was sentenced to five years' probation in July 2017,[24] but the probation ended earlier in March 2018 after she hired a new lawyer.[25] In March 2021, Bregoli uploaded a video to her YouTube channel in which she says she experienced and witnessed abuse at the Turn-About Ranch. She accused staffers of forcing her to sit still for three days straight without being allowed to sleep, using physical restraint on other teenagers, and ignoring reports of bullying. She also criticized Dr. Phil for sending teenagers on his show to the facility.[26][27] He responded via an April 2021 interview with NewsNation that he was unaware of the ranch's actions and did not get progress reports from them. Bregoli responded to this with a follow-up video in which she stated that the ranch sends progress reports directly to the show.[28][29]
2017–2018: Career beginnings, and 15
In early 2017, Bregoli was signed by music manager Adam Kluger and initially received industry backlash.
"Everybody got weird," he says. "I wasn't even mad that they were bashing Danielle, because everyone was bashing Danielle at the time. I was like: 'You really don't believe that I know what I'm doing? Don't bet the horse, bet the jockey.'"[30]
Bregoli released her first single "These Heaux" (pronounced "hoes") on August 24, 2017. The song reached number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Bregoli the youngest female rap artist to debut on the music chart.[31][32][33] The success of "These Heaux" prompted Atlantic Records to sign Bregoli to a multi-album recording contract.[34] In September 2017, she remixed the Kodak Black song "Roll in Peace" and Tee Grizzley and Lil Yachty song "From the D to the A".[35] On September 22, 2017, she released "Hi Bich", which reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a day after, "Whachu Know", as a single alongside the video, which received over 3 million views in 24 hours.[36][37] After a shorter break, on November 30, 2017, she released another single "I Got It",[38] followed by "Mama Don't Worry (Still Ain't Dirty)" in December. In the latter, she rapped about her past, and that her appearance in Dr. Phil should be forgotten.[39] This theme was echoed in the video for "Both of Em", in which she buried her old self in a shallow grave.[40] In "Hi Bich (Remix)" she collaborated for the first time with other artists, including YBN Nahmir, Rich the Kid and Asian Doll (in the video, YBN Nahmir was replaced by MadeinTYO for unknown reasons).[41][42]
On March 26, 2018, she celebrated her birthday with a new song release, "Gucci Flip Flops", featuring Lil Yachty.[43] Two days later, she received a gold certification from the RIAA for her single "Hi Bich".[44] In mid-April, she released a freestyle called "Who Run It".[45]
Her first tour across North America and Europe, together with Asian Doll, began on April 14, 2018.[46] On May 2, 2018, the video for "Gucci Flip Flops" was released. Following the video's release, the song became a moderate hit and debuted at number 80 on the Billboard's Hot 100; it peaked with one upward position on the chart. She received a 2018 Billboard Music Award nomination in the category of Best Female Rap Artist, along with Cardi B and Nicki Minaj.[47]
On June 14, 2018, Bregoli released the single "Trust Me" featuring Ty Dolla Sign.[48] On July 26, she released the video for "Trust Me", featuring guest appearances from Theo Von and Bella Thorne.
On August 14, 2018, Bregoli released her debut mixtape 15. It would feature guest appearances from Lil Yachty, Ty Dolla $ign, YG, Lil Baby, City Girls, and Asian Doll. One day later, she received a gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America for her single "Gucci Flip Flops". On August 30, Bregoli released the single "Yung and Bhad" featuring City Girls.[49] Two days before the release of her debut mixtape, she released a music video for Thot Opps (Clout Drop) and Bout That.[50] On September 18, 2018, she released 15.[51] She released the single "Geek'd" featuring Lil Baby, with a music video released two days later.[52][53] Other album tracks such as "No More Love", "Famous", "Count It" and "Shhh" were presented as video shorts on YouTube. On October 17, she released "Juice" featuring rapper YG. Its accompanying music video followed thereafter, with a guest appearance from UFC Women's Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg; YG did not appear on the video.[54][55]
On November 6, 2018, she embarked on a tour that spanned the Western United States, New Zealand, and Australia.[56] It was received positively, with praise directed towards Bregoli's stage presence.[57][58]
On November 16, 2018, controversy arose when she threw her drink at, and attempted to assault, fellow rapper Iggy Azalea while attending Cardi B's Fashion Nova launch party.[59][60] Bregoli told paparazzi that she had done it due to prior comments Azalea made on Instagram, while Azalea responded with a series of tweets condemning Bregoli.[61]
2019–present: Bringing Up Bhabie, Ride or Die and return to music
In January 2019, Bregoli released two singles: "Babyface Savage" featuring Tory Lanez and "Bestie" featuring Kodak Black.[62][63] The song also charted on Canada and on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 in the US, extending her record of the youngest female to have more entries in over 20 years.[64][65] The music video reached 20 million views in under two months. "Bestie"'s music video, directed by Michael Garcia, was published on February 25 and praised for its visuals and storyline. It featured product placement by multiple brands and had a cameo appearance from late rapper DMX.[66]
In the same month, she announced an endorsement deal with Copycat Beauty, where she will promote the brand's products on her social media and music videos.[67] She reportedly made a percentage of the sales for the six-month deal—an estimated total of US$900,000.[68] The deal was successful, as the company's sales spiked, reaching 500,000 on its first day.[69]
Bregoli also released the trailer of her reality show, Bringing Up Bhabie, which detailed her daily life and musical career. The show was published on Snapchat as a Snap Original. The first season had 12 episodes, and TMZ reported ratings of over ten million unique viewers in its first 24 hours. The publication also reported she was set to earn over US$10 million in 2019.[70] During September 2019, the reality show was renewed by Snapchat for a second season due to air in summer 2020, but later delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and canceled later that year.
During April and May 2019, Bregoli released a remix of "Bestie" by Spenda C Nola Bounce and a radio version of the song with Megan Thee Stallion. She released the version with Megan in order for her song to be played on the radio as radio stations were boycotting Kodak Black at the time. Bregoli also released the double singles "Lotta Dem" and her song "Spaz", which features YBN Nahmir. The making of the "Spaz" music video was recorded for her Snapchat show Bringing Up Bhabie.[71]
The following month, she released the single "Get Like Me", which features NLE Choppa.[72][73] On August 22, 2019, she announced the release of her mobile game Ride or Die, which features Bregoli as an animated character where the player has to get her to run from the police.[74]
In December 2019, a video of Bregoli wearing box braids was posted to Instagram, causing controversy over cultural appropriation and her subsequent decision to go on a social media hiatus.[75] In February 2020, she ended her hiatus with a freestyle to Nicki Minaj's song "Yikes"[76] and another song called "$" with Lil Gotit.[77] On April 22, she released the single, "That's What I Said", a track addressing her critics.[78]
On March 17, 2020, actress Skai Jackson filed a restraining order against Bregoli following a heavily documented feud in which Bregoli sent Jackson death threats and repeatedly harassed Jackson's mother on social media.[79][80] Jackson dropped the restraining order on June 15.[81][unreliable source?]
In June, Bregoli entered a 31-day rehab facility for childhood trauma and addiction to prescription medication.[82] She received support from celebrities such as Demi Lovato, Blac Chyna and Charli XCX.[83]
In October, she released her second single of 2020, "Do It Like Me", which quickly went viral on the social media platform TikTok.[83]
On April 1, 2021, six days after her eighteenth birthday, Bregoli opened an OnlyFans account, earning over $1 million in revenue in the first six hours, including over $757,000 from subscriptions, $267,000 from message payments, and $5,000 in tips.[84] She later demonstrated evidence[85][86] of earnings of more than $50 million,[87] which was initially met with skepticism.[88] As of September 2024, Bhad Bhabie earns $1,489,374 per month on OnlyFans and remains the highest paid creator on the platform.[89]
On April 4, TMZ reported that she and Paris Hilton were collaborating on a troubled teen program to focus on abuse experienced by teens at camps.[90]
In September 2021, she launched her own record label, Bhad Music, where she will release her upcoming debut EP.[91] On September 17, she released her first single of 2021, "Miss Understood", which peaked at 8 on the Billboard Digital Song Sales Chart.[92] It is scheduled to be the lead single of her upcoming debut EP.[93]
Personal life
Bregoli began dating Le Vaughn in 2020.[94] She gave birth to their first child, a daughter, in March 2024.[95][96] In July 2024, Bregoli posted graphic footage alleging abuse by her ex-boyfriend, Vaughn. The videos were deleted from her Instagram story but circulated online. They showcase security camera footage of her being forcibly slammed to the ground and pushed with his knee.[97]
