The Tuna Meme

Background
It was July of 2001, and Martha and her crew were savoring the last few days of freedom they had left before filming for season 3 of Martha Screams began. Martha was at the community pool with a few close friends and cast members when, as a friend puts it "a lifeguard was having a snack of tuna, and dropped the can onto Martha's head." Apparently, a cat was drowning in the pool, and the lifeguard tossed everything aside as he dove into the pool from his perch. The can of tuna hit Martha on the head, before dumping its contents all over the pool's edge. Martha, who had just been walking under the lifeguard's chair, began crying in agony. It is not certain whether she was upset about being hit in the head by a can of tuna, deeply worried about the tuna triggering her fish allergy, or devastated that the lifeguard was saving a cat.

Impact
The day of the tuna incident, someone snapped a photo of Martha during her struggle beside the can of tuna, and it was published online and in several newspapers the same week. Citing emotional instability and bias against the tuna industry, the press tore Martha apart, using only the photo as clarification of what they believed to be the source of every problem in America. Among all of this negative attention however, was great publicity for Martha Speaks that had arisen as people bonded over the photo for its undeniable hilarity and relatability. A whole new audience was recruited for the show, one which laughed with Martha, so to speak, and grew increasingly excited for season 3, which was scheduled for release in October of 2001. Today, in the age of social media, it is known as "The Tuna Meme," and is often captioned with "my child" or "Don't cry over spilled tuna." Although over 20 years old, the photo has lost none of its charm, and has been a source for many jokes among fans of Martha.