Pop mogul Taylor Swift is just one of the many featured on the cover of Time for their annual Person Of The Year edition. This year’s person of the year is a group of individuals— “the silence breakers”— those who helped “set off a national reckoning over the prevalence of sexual harassment,” as announced by the magazine’s editor-in-chief on NBC’s Today on Wednesday morning.
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
The cover image also featured Ashley Judd, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, the back of a woman’s head (meant to represent victims of assault with no public audience), a Mexican strawberry-picker named Isabel Pascual and Adama Iwu, a corporate lobbyist in Sacramento— among others.
Yet Taylor Swift is the only one featured who is the subject of much debate, at least on Twitter. It seems one cannot feel lukewarm when it comes to musician— you either love her or you hate her. Many did not think the pop star deserved a spot on the cover, especially in light of her threatening to sue journalists who attempt to write about her white supremacist fans and her unwillingness to speak out against President Trump’s sexual harassment allegations:
i feel bad abt what taylor went through but she has been notoriously silent about 1 big harasser & legally threatens journalists who try to write about her white supremacist fanbase so idk what to say about this https://t.co/MLvjTREtXP
— Joanna Rothkopf (@joannarothkopf) December 6, 2017
It’s kinda weird that “silence breaker” Taylor Swift tried to sue a blogger for an op-ed about white supremacists who like her music. ???
— Tyler Coates (@tylercoates) December 6, 2017
Taylor Swift is with The Silence Breakers?!
The bitch has been silent on neo-nazis, never condemned the alt-right. She doesn't deserve to be in there.— Abhishek Pratap (@Abhi5hekk) December 6, 2017
I understand her inclusion, but after all that’s happened this year, it REALLY rankles me that Time would put Taylor Swift on this cover over literally anyone else https://t.co/sS0I5Kdnqu
— Tyler McCall (@eiffeltyler) December 6, 2017
Taylor Swift doesn't get to market herself as a feminist icon. She has remained silent on anything political.
— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) December 6, 2017
Did we really need Taylor Swift in here though?
— Kate Ritchie (@kateritchie) December 6, 2017
The women on the cover of @Time’s Person Of The Year: The Silence Breakers.
ISABEL PASCUAL, strawberry picker
ASHLEY JUDD, actress
ADAMA IWU, lobbyist
SUSAN FOWLER, former Uber engineer
TAYLOR SWIFT, musician pic.twitter.com/pCf4BMVEMY— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) December 6, 2017
I love TS but I think Kesha deserved this place so much more, I'm disappointed but not suprised
— Flor- (@smallgirlmadeof) December 6, 2017