Time in its own way embraced the noise around its annual person of the year selection for 2017, choosing the “silence breakers” as Person of the Year. On the choice, the magazine wrote, “The people who have broken their silence on sexual assault and harassment span all races, all income classes, all occupations and virtually all corners of the globe. Their collective anger has spurred immediate and shocking results. For their influence on 2017, they are Time’s Person of the Year.”
The cover shot from left to right: strawberry picker Isabel Pascual, actress Ashley Judd, lobbyist Adama Iwu, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, musician Taylor Swift.
Coverage includes feedback by actresses Ashley Judd, Selma Blair, Rose McGowan and Alyssa Milano, activist Tarana Burke (who started the #metoo hashtag), state senator Sarah Gelser, musician Taylor Swift, former dishwasher Sandra Pezqueda, director Blaise Godbe and NBC anchor Megyn Kelly, among others.
On Monday (December 4, 2017), the magazine announced its shortlist: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the Dreamers, Wonder woman director Patty Jenkins, North Korea leader Kim Jung Un, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the #metoo movement (aka the silence breakers), attorney Robert Mueller, Saudi Arabia crown prince Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping.
Donald Trump, who won Person of the Year in 2016, put a big spotlight on the selection process last week when he claimed in a tweet he had been selected for the short list, but didn’t want to go through the required photoshoot. The magazine followed with a tweet saying it does not comment publicly or privately on Person of the Year selection until the publication date.
Read the essay related to the selection here.
The Silence Breakers are TIME’s Person of the Year 2017 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/mLgNTveY9z pic.twitter.com/GBo9z57RVG
— TIME (@TIME) December 6, 2017
