The ‘Cash Me Outside’ Girl Is Not As Bad As The Media Is Making Her Out To Be

Earlier this week, I covered a story on a former Dr. Phil guest named Danielle Bregoli, who despite not having the most difficult moniker to remember, is more often known by those who frequent the internet as the “Cash Me Outside” girl.

For those confused by the three-piece nickname (which you probably aren’t, but detailed explanations are kind of a necessary thing in digital journalism), a little background: in September of last year, Bregoli’s mother, Barbara Ann, requested the assistance of the southern-drawl possessing television psychologist for an episode centered on a theme Maury Povich once overused, “wild child teens.”

During their segment, the younger Bregoli — the owner of an accent just as thick as the show’s host, Phil McGraw (even if it’s somewhat disingenuous) — following some snide remarks from the judgmental studio audience, verbally lashed out at them by first relaying to the voyeurs as “h*es,” before delivering her now infamous threat, “cash me outside, how bow dah,” which is a garbled verbal take of, “catch me outside, how ’bout that?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fECuGVpYSNI

The line, as luck would have it for Danielle, has offered the young girl a bit of a temporary ticket out of her existence as an everyday small town rebel to one of outright internet queen status, and ultimately promoting the 13-year-old as the newest face of the meme generation, while also placing her words on everything from the most basic of social media hashtags to the occasional ceramic coffee mug, which is totally a thing on Etsy, by the way.

Be that as if may, as most media moments have proven in the past, it has also turned the “Cash Me Outside” speaker into something of a huge joke; or in this particular case, into another stereotypical, self-centered, immature child who most believe could be set right by a parent who doesn’t spare the rod.

And perhaps there’s some politically-incorrect truth in that, but the reality is, the majority of us have; at some point in time, been just as stereotypical, self-centered and immature as the version of Danielle that is the focal point of her narrative right now.

However, what is not being promoted just as strongly, despite its accessibility, are the more admirable aspects of the young Ms. Bregoli and yes, there are quite a few of them.

For starters, remember the post that was mentioned at the start of this article? In it, as shared by the Inquisitr on Tuesday, I reiterated the event of Danielle’s most recent trouble, which involved he and her mother being removed from a Spirit Airlines flight after clobbering an angry passenger while en route to an unnamed destination.

While composing the piece, I did my best to refrain from placing blame on party or the other; as most are expected to do in this medium, but from the very first piece I read about the melee, I automatically took to the so-called “angry” teen’s side; not because of her current notoriety, but because of why she threw her hands up in the first place: she was defending the woman who brought her into this world.

“My mom went to hold me back,” Danielle explained to TMZ on Tuesday about the incident, while using her arm to further display how the woman grabbed for Barbara Ann’s neck.

“My mom had breast cancer and [a broken foot], so she can’t really fight. I didn’t know if she hit my mom [in her chest] — all I knew is that this bi– this lady hit my mom and I need to whoop her right here.”

Firstly, good save, Danielle. Secondly, what person in their right mind and spirit would willingly stand by and allow their mother, the woman whose stomach nurtured and protected them as an embryo, a fetus, and a soon-to-be newborn, get physically assaulted without mirroring their favorite Street Fighter II: Champion Edition character in hopes of protecting her?

And no, it does not matter if your parent started it; if they’re male, female or non-binary; or even if they could more than handle the situation themselves. Even if I had a dad like Wolverine from the X-Men, a muscly-shredded beast of a being with razor sharp claws and self-healing abilities, I would still jump into the fray without a second thought to ensure his safety, even if it might idiotically eradicate my own. The bond between a parent and child is something that is hard to translate into the written word, but I’m sure we all get it. All of us. You fight for the ones you love, and sometimes, that fight turns out to be a physical one.

Stronger still, on the other hand, there’s another piece of this confusing pie that folks are simply not being serviced because, in all reality, it doesn’t make for good TV or headlines: the “Cash Me Outside” girl is actually as normal as most teenagers come.

Don’t believe me? Well, maybe you’ll believe writer Tim Molloy, a journalist over at entertainment publication The Wrap, who sifted through a video capture of a recent live stream Danielle held. About 17 minutes into the visual, Molloy witnessed the teenager addressing a viewer who inquired her on how to deal with people who made fun of their short stature.

“Danielle paused,” Molloy wrote, “decided how honest she wanted to be, and answered hesitantly:

“I mean, obviously I’m tiny so people like to make fun of me. That’s why I got a mouth like I do — because that’s how I [have to] defend myself or else, there [would be] no defendin’ myself. B***h, I happen to have a mouth. That’s the only way I’m finna get through with life.”

“Did you get that,” Molloy continues following the quote. “[If not], let me try to translate: she’s little, and feels physically threatened by other kids, so she makes a lot of threats to get them to leave her alone. She doesn’t actually want to fight entire audiences, outside. She wants to not fight entire audiences. Anywhere.”

And no, again, that isn’t anything to laugh over. As a child, I, too, was susceptible to bullying because of my small frame and love of reading and writing — and man, did I ever get bullied, at least, up until around high school, where I realized that my love of the written word could also be powerful when remixed as spoken sarcasm and sass (I also learned how to throw a proper punch when necessary, so that helped, too — violence isn’t the way, kids!).

Nonetheless, I say all that to express that we’ve all been in that position before as well. Who hasn’t, in one way or another, acted big and bad to rope-a-dope our enemies or those who we want to impress, into believing that we were a lot more bigger and badder than we really were/are? Yes, it’s all smoke and mirrors at the end of the day, but it’s a part of the occasionally embarrassing thing that we call life, but none more so especially than between the ages of childhood and actual adulthood.

We just had the privilege of doing it without the internet having a say — Danielle sadly doesn’t.

It has been reported that this coming Friday, the “Cash Me Outside” girl will return to the place that allowed her to have a bit of a spotlight shine, the Dr. Phil show. According to a synopsis of the episode from the show’s official website, “viewers will see a side of Danielle they have never seen before” following the completion of a 4 1/2 month stint at a rehab center for “wayward youth.”

Whether or not she needed such help remains to be seen, but perhaps the time has come for us to stop looking at the “Catch Me Outside” girl for her messy side, and respect Danielle for the growing girl she truly is. Now, “how bow dah?”

[Featured Image by Danielle Bregoli/Instagram]