Following the airing of a 2010 South Park episode in which a depiction of the Prophet Muhammad was censored by Viacom and Comedy Central, Seattle-based cartoonist Molly Norris drew a cartoon proclaiming May 20th "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day." It featured several mundane objects, including a tea cup, a domino, and a spool of thread, proclaiming themselves to be the Prophet. She had intended only to show support against the censorship in an amusing way, but the idea gained much more traction than she expected.

A Facebook page dedicated to the "event" garnered over 100,000 likes and attracted many artists who shared less light-hearted, much more vulgar depictions of the Prophet. It quickly became a controversial issue, with Pakistan temporarily banning Facebook within the country.

"She didn't mean to skewer or offend. She just thought people should lighten up. She was just standing up for free speech. But in a very gentle way." - friend of Molly Norris

Molly saw the turmoil and distanced herself from the situation, saying she never intended to cause any trouble or offense, but by this time, she was already known as the instigator. She had received multiple death threats and placed on a hit list by al-Qaeda-linked imam Anwar al-Awlaki. At the recommendation of the FBI, she changed her name and went into hiding.

As of 2015, it was reported that Molly (now under an unknown name) was still in hiding. Her current situation remains unclear.