‘Time’ Names ‘The Silence Breakers’ From #MeToo Movement As The Person Of The Year For 2017
Time has named the Silence Breakers, the individuals who set of a national reckoning over sexual harassment, as its 2017 Person of the Year. According to Today, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Edward Felsenthal, revealed on Wednesday, December 6 a group photo that included Ashley Judd, Taylor Swift, Susan Fowler, and a woman’s face that isn’t visible as the magazine’s cover.
Felsenthal said that the actions of the women on the cover, along with hundreds of others — including many men — have unleashed a movement in this country. He believes that the #MeToo movement may be the most important and largest shifts in America since the 1960s.
The Silence Breakers emerged and accused Hollywood directors, actors, actresses, showrunners, and more of sexual misconduct. Harvey Weinstein was one of the accused, and before it was over, nearly 100 women accused the producer of sexual harassment. It was a crushing blow to his career.
“These silence breakers have started a revolution of refusal, gathering strength by the day, and in the past two months alone, their collective anger has spurred immediate and shocking results: nearly every day, CEOs have been fired, moguls toppled, icons disgraced. In some cases, criminal charges have been brought.”
Actor Kevin Spacey, Charlie Ross, Louis C.K. and Al Franken were a few of the names of those who faced sexual harassment allegations. Just last week, a co-worker accused Matt Lauer of sexual harassment, and NBC fired him from Today.
According to CNN, men and women all over the country broke their silence to share their stories of being victimized and led to the #MeToo movement taking off. It began on social media and fueled a worldwide discussion on how to stop sexual harassment in the workplace.
WATCH: “The image you see partially on the cover is of a woman we talked to… who doesn’t feel that she can come forward without threatening her livelihood.” @TIME EIC @efelsenthal talks #TIMEPOY cover pic.twitter.com/q3bPbKNPbg
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 6, 2017
Edward noted that Time did contact President Trump to notify him he was on the short list two weeks ago. However, they did not tell him that he “would probably” be named as the Person of the Year for 2017.
The #MeToo movement developed during the aftermath of Donald Trump’s presidential win. America was in shock that Trump won the election and would lead the country for at least four years. According to Yahoo, the movement came to be after the 2005 Access Hollywood recording was released in which Trump bragged how he could sexually assault women because he was a celebrity.
.@TIME’s 2017 Person of the Year: The Silence Breakers https://t.co/7cYyxgpU5U pic.twitter.com/lL1PH4STcS
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 6, 2017
Felsenthal revealed that Donald Trump was the second runner-up with Xi Jinping coming in third. Last year, Trump was named the Person of the Year. At the time, Donald called it a “tremendous honor.” However, he wasn’t as thankful the second time around.
Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year, but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 24, 2017
The Silence Breakers were up against Chinese President Xi Jinping, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, Dreamers, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, President Trump, Robert Mueller, Kim Jong Un, and Colin Kaepernick.
The Time editor-in-chief stated that they felt compelled to name the Silence Breakers as the Person of the Year because of their bravery to stand up and share their stories.
