In dhefense of Bhad Bhabie, aka the ‘Cash Me Ousside’ Girl, aka Danielle Bregoli

From the moment she forced her way into our collective consciousness in 2016 with her explosive Dr. Phil appearance as a 13-year-old car thief who physically fought her own mom, she was instantly despised. She was called trashy, obnoxious, ungrateful, stupid and racist. We made her into a meme and dismissed her as a joke.

But almost two years later, we're still talking about Danielle Bregoli, who now raps under the name Bhad Bhabie with a deal at Atlantic Records, fights other teenagers at Coachella and has a reality TV show in the works.

And honestly, even though she's still pretty universally reviled, I'm kind of fucking obsessed with her — and I think she deserves more credit than she gets from pretty much anyone.

If you're skeptical let me lay it out for you, how bout dah?

At least she's actually ABOUT it

No offense, but if you watch that fight video again there's only one person swinging, and her name doesn't rhyme with "No Ricky."

Bhad Bhabie is a fighter, not a lover — it's the reason she's banned from Spirit Airlines, and I think that's cool and fun. Next!

She's mostly learned her lesson post-Phil, especially when it comes to her mom

When Barbara took her daughter on Dr. Phil, she complained that Danielle was out of control — stealing, selling drugs, starting fights. But since then, Danielle has totally disavowed who she was when she went on the show and admitted on her Youtube channel that she used to be "trash" and seeing her Dr. Phil footage upsets her.

She also implied that she no longer does drugs on her single Hi Bich — more on that later — where she raps, "I do not sniff it or roll it/it do not drip when I pour it," meaning that cocaine, weed and codeine are all out of her life now.

Plus, Barbara and Danielle have a great relationship now — Bhad Bhabie devoted an entire song to her mom called "Mama Don't Worry," in which she chronicles her mom's struggle with breast cancer and dedicates her success to her single parent. And in the video above, you'll see that Danielle paid off her mom's mortgage for Christmas.

I think my mom would let me call people "biches" too if I could drop bands like that.

C'mon, she's pretty fucking funny

Danielle hasn't always been "in" on the joke (people who become the subject of memes rarely are), but it's no accident that she's still around: the girl can entertain.

Before she started rapping, she garnered a pretty large following on Youtube, where she mostly just reacts to criticism or answers fan questions — but fuck, is it fun to watch. This video of her responding to fan art is one of my personal favorites. I dare you to watch it without at least cracking a smile.

She is no more racist than your average Kardashian, and still young enough to learn

Okay, so big preface: I'm not Black. And if the fact that Bhad Bhabie's voice, nails, braids and affectations are clearly derivative of "Black" culture, or society's perception of it, is a deal-breaker for a Black person, that makes sense. I get it, no worries.

But Bhad Bhabie is not Woah Vicky-level racist. She doesn't say the n-word on social media (unlike Lil Tay) and she does not claim to be Black. She's more Kardashian-level racist: obvious, thoughtless appropriation for clout.

The difference? At this point, every Kardashian is a legal adult, and again — Bhad Bhabie is a child! She still has time to learn and get better! We let male rappers change their names and atone for their sins without much fuss (Brian Imanuel comes to mind), and I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll see Danielle do the same thing.

Sorry, her music is fucking good

Hi Bich is a banger, These Heaux is a banger, Whachu Know is a banger, I Got It is a banger, Mama Don't Worry is an emotional banger and in the Hi Bich remix, Bhad Bhabie calls Iggy Azealia an "old hoe" and says she wouldn't even pay Iggy to wash her car. TELL ME THAT'S NOT LIT.

Besides, isn't it obvious why we have such a soft spot for her over here? A young, boisterous newcomer who hasn't really paid her dues and who's notorious for being rude, disrespectful and borderline offensive?

Yeah, that doesn't sound familiar to anyone at bhabe dot net.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

● Bella Thorne isn’t the victim you want, so you’re ok slut-shaming her

● We journeyed to find the truth about TimmyThick, the so-called ‘Harvard experiment’ viral star

@k80way