Time has named the women behind the #MeToo movement as their Person of the Year.
The announcement was made Wednesday morning on the Today show by the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal.
‘This is the fastest moving social change we’ve seen in decades and it began with individual acts of courage by hundreds of women – and some men too – who came forward to tell their stories of sexual harassment and assault,’ Felsenthal said.
Last year’s winner President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping were runner up and third place, respectively.
The hundreds of women who have been speaking out about sexual harassment and sexual assault were also up against Colin Kaepernick, Robert Mueller, Jeff Bezos, the Dreamers, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and Kim Jong Un of North Korea.
The women behind the #MeToo movement have been named Time Person of the Year
The new issue of Time with the ‘Silence Breakers’ on the cover will hit newsstands on Friday.
That list was compiled by the editors of Time based on who they believe has influenced the world around them ‘for good or ill’ the most over the past 12 months.
One of the names noticeably missing from the list was former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who had been among the finalists last year but ultimately lost out to President Trump.
The final countdown: The finalist for Time Person of the Year (above) were revealed on Today Monday
Commander-in-tweet: President Trump (above in November at the annual APEC meeting) is in the running for the honor once again after being named Time Person of the Year in 2016
Power to the people: Former football star Colin Kaepernick (above on Sunday), who has become an activist and philanthropist during his ongoing free agency, was a finalist
The list was unveiled in no particular order, kicking off with Bezos, who has vastly expanded the reach of his company Amazon over the past year on his way to becoming the richest man in the world, and the first to have a net worth of over $100 million.
President Trump was next, a little over an hour after he managed to make headlines once again by officially endorsing Alabama Senate hopeful Roy Moore despite accusations that he sexually molested a girl when she was 14 and assaulted another female was she was 16 in a restaurant parking lot.
The #MeToo movement, which was started in 2006 by social activist Tarana Burke to allow victims of sexual misconduct to share their stories and took off this past October in the wake of allegations against Harvey Weinstein, was next up on the list.
Kim Jung Un of North Korea earned a spot on the list thanks in large part to the ongoing threat of nuclear war between his country and the rest of the world.
Kaepernick got his spot as a result of starting his own movement, with his refusal to stand for the national anthem while protesting police brutality back in August 2016 leading to hundreds of other athletes in the the NFL and other sports around the world doing the same.
Targeting Trump: The list is compiled based on who Time editors believe has influenced the world around them ‘for good or ill’ the most over the past 12 months (Kim Jung Un on left and Robert Mueller on right)
President Xi Jinping, one of the few world leaders who President Trump has made a point of working closely with over the past year, made the list during the same year he was elected to his second five year term as leader of China.
Next up were the Dreamers, whose plight has been the subject of much political discourse after President Trump and his administration revoked an Obama-era program intended to give the children who were born to illegal immigrants a path to citizenship in the United States.
Donny boy: President Trump was Person of the Year in 2016 (above)
A third Asian leader and the sole finalist from the Middle East was also among the 10, with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia finding himself in the running after he launched a far-reaching crackdown on government corruption and spending that targeted many members of his own family. Many have called it move designed to solidify the future king’s power.
Robert Mueller made the list for his investigation into Russia meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and it’s connections to the Trump campaign that could topple the president.
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins nabbed the final spot for her work on the box office-dominating and boundary-breaking superhero film.
Time revealed the results of their reader’s poll on Monday as well, which was won by Crown Prince bin Salman in overwhelming fashion, as he commanded 24 per cent of the vote versus the six per cent that runner-up the #MeToo movement received in the poll.