TIME Magazine just released its list of the 100 most influential people of 2020 and it runs the gamut from Dr. Fauci to frontline nurse Amy O’Sullivan, BLM founders and even Megan Thee Stallion, who got their very own cover.
Broken into ‘Pioneers’, ‘Leaders,’ ‘Artists,’ Icons’ and ‘Titans,’ the magazine chose those who have had the most impact this year.
Celebs wrote many of the accompanying articles, such as Jimmy Kimmel who wrote the piece on Dr. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert:
‘He delivers the truth, as difficult as it may be to hear, earnestly and with one goal: to save lives. His courage and candor have earned our trust. We are all fortunate to have a man of his wisdom, experience and integrity to help us navigate these difficult waters,’ Kimmel wrote.
Fittingly, Black Lives Matter founders Cullors, Garza and Tometi headed up the ‘Icons’ portion.
Their biography was written by Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, a black 17-year-old who was shot dead by a white security officer in Florida in 2012.
‘There are only three of them, but they are everywhere,’ Fulton wrote. ‘They are getting people to think: What if you had a 17-year-old son in a hoodie, and no weapon, just a candy and a drink, and now he’s dead on the ground? What if your daughter was sleeping in her own bed and the police knocked down the door and killed her? How would you feel? That is what “Black Lives Matter” asks.’
In the artist’s section, Elton John penned the piece on The Weekend, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye,calling him ‘a mysterious figure in an era when mystery is rare in pop. You never know what to expect next.’
Katie Couric covered Amy O’Sullivan, an 18-year veteran ER nurse at Wyckoff hospital in Brooklyn, who treated the first COVID-19 patient at her hospital and continues on the forntlines.
“Amy is just one of the millions of health care workers worldwide who risked everything to service others,’ journalist Katie Couric wrote.
Trump also was mentioned — though he won’t like it. Infamously, Trump had a doctored Time magazine cover in one of this golf resorts until the Magazine sued him to take it down.
Senior White House correspondent Brian Bennett had the unpleasant task of writing Trump’s bio, writing that he ‘downplayed the severity of COVID-19 early on, refused for months to wear a mask and pressured government scientists to change their recommendations, as the virus spread to eventually kill more than 200,000 Americans’.
Bennett called Trump’s presidency ‘norm-shattering’, adding: ‘Voters will decide on Election Day whether Trump’s use of power will be a cautionary tale or a preview of more to come.’
Megan Thee Stallion on TIME100 cover as actress Taraji P Henson called her ‘the epitome of tenacity.’
Joe Biden was featured in the ‘Leaders’ section in a bio written by South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, who describes the Democratic presidential nominee as ‘honest, compassionate and empathetic – but most of all, he is a public servant.’
Like most Americans, Joe Biden knows hardship; he knows disappointment; he knows sacrifice and moments of contentment,’ Clyburn wrote.
‘It’s one thing to run to lead a country at its high point, but I believe it speaks volumes to Joe’s character that he will fight to lead us through these.’