TIME announced their 2017 person of the year - and it’s not Trump
The "Silence Breakers" have been named Time magazine's Person of the Year.
Dozens of men and women have shared their stories since October about sexual misconduct by numerous high-profile men in entertainment, media, business and sport.
The revelations also helped prompt millions worldwide to tweet about their experiences with sexual harassment and assault.
The movement began spontaneously in October after actress-activist Alyssa Milano followed up on a suggestion from a friend of a friend on Facebook and tweeted: "If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet."
The hashtag was tweeted nearly a million times in 48 hours.
The #MeToo movement was founded by activist Tarana Burke on Twitter a decade ago to raise awareness about sexual violence.
Time's announcement was made on NBC's Today show, where longtime host Matt Lauer was fired last week amid harassment allegations.
Today host Savannah Guthrie acknowledged that this year's winner hits "close to home" and mentioned Lauer by name.
The two runners-up were Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, himself accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women. He has denied any wrongdoing.
See why Donald Trump was named as the first runner up for TIME's Person of the Year 2017 #TIMEPOY https://t.co/vmnoTLX2Zt
— TIME (@TIME) December 6, 2017
President Trump previously tweeted that TIME called to tell him that he was "probably going to be named Man (Person) of the year" but he "took a pass".
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 award is decided by Time’s editors and goes to the person or group who has had the most influence on the news in the past year.
Additional reporting by Greg Murphy
