interviews
Maggie Goldenberger Reflects On Her Experience Becoming The ‘Ermahgerd’ Meme, And Why She Ultimately Learned To Love It
s part of the earliest wave of big meme characters to sweep the internet, Maggie Goldenberger found herself transformed into the “Ermahgerd Girl” way back in 2012 after a humorous photo from a decade earlier wound up being spread all over the web. Although she initially wasn’t a fan of the meme and tried to distance herself from it, Goldenberger ultimately learned to enjoy the association with it years later. While the Ermahgerd meme has waned in popularity over the years since its heyday, new iterations of the classic image continue to appear even to this day. Reflecting on the last several years since becoming a meme, Goldenberger recently gave us the chance to interview her about the experience to find out exactly how the photo was made and what she made of it all back then.
Q: Hey, what’s up, Maggie? So it’s been quite a long time since your photo and meme have been in their prime. Would you mind kicking us off by letting everyone know who you are, what your “internet famous” for, and what you’ve been up to as of late?
A: My name is Maggie, and I am currently very busy as a nurse at a hospital in Arizona. A fun photo I took with a friend as a 10-year-old excitedly holding up Goosebumps books resurfaced to viral internet fame in 2012. It was non-consensually uploaded to an internet comedy site, which was captioned by another user “MAH FRAVRET BERKS” to put emphasis on the speech impediment only a retainer can give you. I became the “Ermahgerd Girl.” A few times a year, I get a message to ask if I’d be interested in an interview or an event, and it really just depends on my mood or mental state if I engage. The most recent thing I’ve done was an interview for BuzzFeed.
Q: We’re gonna work our way back up to the day of the photo used in the meme, but let’s discuss a bit of your background. Recap your childhood, where you grew up and give us some context on the timeframe of the image in the meme.
A: I grew up in Olympia, Washington as a huge tomboy and played every sport possible. We lived blocks away from our elementary school and my brother and I would meet all the neighborhood kids on the field to play whatever seasonal sport it was. My friends and I also enjoyed making movies and dressing up for photoshoots. There was a lot of humor and laughter in my household, and we felt a lot of pride in the ability to make people laugh.
Q: Okay, so this brings us up to the day of the iconic photo in 1998/1999. Give us some insight into what you remember about that day, the photo, who took it, why, etc. Try to recall as many details about the image or anything interesting.
A: My best friend Kaelyn (from kindergarten to now) owned the Polaroid camera and was the mastermind in setting up most of the shoots. We dug through her dress-up box and were trying to create the perfect “nerdy” look. I was new to growing out my hair and hated having it in any kind of girly ponytail, so I remember being a little reluctant to the pigtails but she convinced me it was NEEDED. I threw in my retainer and set up holding the Goosebumps books and then Kaelyn had to grab something else last-minute. She ran downstairs and came back with three American Girl doll books to display in the backpack.
Q: How big of a Goosebumps fan were you? Was that just a fun prop for the photo or were you actually a big fan of R.L. Stine and had all those books on you already?
A: I remember enjoying the books but wasn’t a fanatic. I really don’t remember why we chose the Goosebumps books but just that they were in our vicinity.
Q: So the photo sat for several years until a Redditor posted it to the /r/funny sub in March 2012. That same day, it almost instantaneously transformed into a meme with the caption “Gersberms / Mah fravrit berks” and began spreading rapidly until it became known as “Ermahgerd.” When did you first stumble across one of these memes using your image? How’d you react to that, and what was it like seeing your face plastered around the web?
A: When it first came out, I was in India on a six-month-long backpacking trip. We would go to an internet cafe once a week, and I would email my parents, get travel tips and check up on Facebook every once in a while. I had a message one day from a good friend from middle and high school who let me know that another high school classmate was sharing my photo all over Facebook. My mom even chimed in and said my photo was “all over the internet,” and coming from a lady who thinks Facebook newsfeed is people posting on her personal page (“why would they tell me that??”), I didn’t really take it seriously. When I got back to the U.S., I ended up messaging the guy who had it up on his wall and asked him why he wouldn’t just ask because I am usually a pretty good sport about most things. He had no idea what I was talking about. He had found it on a fail blog site and had no clue it was me.
From then on out, most people just contacted me to tell all of the people I should sue and to lawyer up immediately. I really wanted to capitalize on everything but didn’t understand why it was so funny to people who didn’t know me. It was even harder for me to understand why anyone would pay money for merchandise, and I expected it to follow internet culture and disappear in a week. I had, at that point, decided to go back to school for nursing and was trying to navigate getting a job and getting all required prerequisites done to apply for nursing programs.
Q: In 2012, memes were already becoming a pretty big concept, but weren’t nearly as well-known as they are today. Given that, were you familiar with meme and internet culture in any way?
A: I was not familiar with memes or much of internet culture. I’m very much a late bloomer with new tech crazes and had a flip-phone for way too long.
Q: What about your parents, other family or friends? How did they react to you becoming a meme?
A: My parents and friends thought it was funny. There are a lot of older family members that have no idea what it is and they really don’t need to know. Everyone has their opinions of ways to make money and people to sue, and it continually happens to this day. I have a girlfriend that I’ve been dating for over a year now, and after the BuzzFeed video was published in December 2019, it was her first experience with internet trolls. She was involved in internet arguments without my knowledge and wanted me to post rebuttals, and I had to give her the sit-down pep talk, “NEVER ENGAGE!” People can be very rude, cruel and brazen behind their keyboards and you just can’t take anything personally.
Q: Only a few weeks after the photo went viral, some Redditors began identifying you by comparing the meme’s photo with others they found of you online. Do you remember seeing any such threads trying to uncover who you were? What was your response if so?
A: I didn’t see any images of my actual photo online until my brother’s friend submitted one of me. He asked me if I wanted to do an “Ask Me Anything” for Reddit and said the proceeds could go to a charity of my choice. He gave me some tasks to do to prove it was me, and then I received a Facebook message from a Reddit user who shared with me screenshots of my brother’s friend messages in a forum. The messages were stating who I was and revealing way too much personal information than I was comfortable with going on the internet. That kind of shut everything down for me and turned me off from doing any interviews or responding to any other messages at that time.
Q: Three years after that initial period when you became an unwitting meme star, you were interviewed by Vanity Fair for a little investigative piece in 2015. Can you tell us more about this experience, how they contacted you, and what it was like recapping the history of the meme at that time?
A: I honestly don’t know how I was able to view the message, but Darryn contacted me through Facebook messenger and somehow that day it alerted me to the “message requests'' section. I had a little stockpile that I was completely unaware of. He had initially wanted to do a story on online bullying because of another young boy’s story of becoming a meme. The boy had not chosen to expose himself to online criticism and experienced a lot of trauma as a result of his unwanted meme fame. I really wanted to help him out because I thought his cause was noble but had to let him know that I did not personally feel attacked by comments on the photo because I was playing a character at the time.
It did bother me that no one had attempted to reach out for consent and no one was checking to see if I was being harmed by this in any way. He decided he wanted to move forward with a different angle, and I agreed to a phone interview. He did some great investigative work because I still had no idea who had originally uploaded the picture to a comedy website. Darryn found out it was just a random 17-year-old from Canada that found it on Photobucket that we had utilized as middle schoolers to share photos without understanding there was a specific public section that needed to be toggled off.
Q: One interesting part of that article explained how R.L. Stine was asked repeatedly for his thoughts on the Ermahgerd meme back during its prime, which said that he was annoyed and confused about it. Did you ever have any contact with him about this or see his response to the meme and how he thought it was mocking his readers?
A: I did watch R.L. Stine say he was very confused by it but it did help sales of Goosebumps books and merchandise. I’m still waiting for R.L.Stine to reach out to the Ermahgerd girl. He also did a funny little cameo at the end of a music video with Nerdist and Hayley Williams saying that he, “did not approve of this video.”
Q: When you’re out in public these days, do people ever recognize you as the girl from the meme? What about those you tell about it or bring it up to, how do they react when learning you’re the iconic “Ermahgerd Girl?”
A: I have only been recognized once in my life as the “Ermahgerd Girl.” Most of the time it is just word of mouth being passed around the workplace or at a party. The reactions are usually a mixed bag, some people are excited and others couldn’t care less. I feel like I bring a lot of disappointment when people are excited before meeting me, just a big let down.
Q: Hailing from the “golden age” of early meme characters, you’re part of an iconic meme celebrity group. Have you ever attended any big events over the years for being in the meme or met any other “meme stars?”
A: I have never attended a big meme night, I think I missed my golden window in 2012 when I really didn’t want any part of it. I did meet the Double Rainbow guy at one event. He was incredibly sweet and that was a fun evening.
Q: Many people we’ve interviewed from that similar timeframe in memes have found ways to capitalize on their fame. Were you ever approached by any brands, companies, etc. to use the image, or did you ever attempt to do this yourself?
A: I haven’t really had many brands reach out, but there have been a couple throughout the years. My friend ended up getting me in touch with Grumpy Cat’s manager, Ben Lashes, a few years ago and he was able to package me with some of his other clients for a few different deals.
Q: As you’ve grown up and used the internet since you became a meme, how often do you still see your photo being used? Is it funny, weird or annoying when you see it to this day, all these years later?
A: I always joke around how I never want this to die, so when I see something come back from the grave, I usually celebrate. Still got it! It was very overwhelming when it first came out because I would see it on the internet and then 20 different people would want to show it to me and I’d always have to seem happy or surprised. Now it’s usually one random person on Facebook that shares the meme being used and I really do enjoy it now.
Q: Of all the thousands of Ermahgerd memes out there, do you have any favorite versions? Which ones do you think are the funniest or unfunniest? Have you ever tried your hand at making any yourself?
A: My favorite ones are just my head or face cut and pasted. Just seeing a close-up of my face on Marry Poppins is quite delightful. There is Titanic one and Armageddon one which always makes me giggle. I have never made a meme only because I’m technologically challenged, otherwise, I’d be all over it.
Q: Due to your own experience becoming a meme, do you keep up with memes much these days, or just casually? Got any personal favorites making the rounds?
A: There have been incredible memes during the chaos of 2020, especially with elections and political spins of the pandemic. People are incredibly clever and funny, and I’m always pleasantly surprised by how witty some people can be.
Q: Alright, last one before we wrap this up. Since you’re the ubiquitous Goosebumps fan, perhaps of all time, what’s the one Goosebumps book that you think everyone should read before they die? Also, thoughts on the recent movies? Do you think Jack Black should be in a scene with you for the next film?
A: I really thought I could look at a list of titles and one would jog my memory, but I don’t have a favorite though I know I enjoyed them. R.L. Stine is very talented. I didn't even realize there was a movie out, the last movie I saw with Jack Black was Jumanji and he was so wonderful in that. Yes, Jack Black should absolutely be in a scene with me in the next film (I need no character or plot information to answer this concretely).
Maggie Goldenberger is a nurse based in the United States whose childhood photo became the Ermahgerd meme back in 2012. You can learn more about the meme by checking out the entry here for additional details and examples.
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