Time magazine's "Person of The Year" Issue Celebrates Those Who Broke the Silence Around Sexual Misconduct

Each year, Time magazine announces a new "Person of the Year." The person in question has always had a large impact on the year that's about to wrap. For perspective, Donald Trump was 2016's Person of the Year, and was given the title after winning the U.S. presidency. But this year, the magazine put a spin on the tradition: Instead of naming a single person as the one who made the biggest splash in 2017, editors chose to highlight a group of people who became known as "The Silence Breakers" by taking a public stance against sexual misconduct. 

Taylor Swift is among the group honored in Time's December 11 issue. Earlier this year, the singer won a symbolic dollar in a lawsuit against former Colorado DJ David Mueller, whom she accused of groping her at a 2013 meet-and-greet with fans. 

During her trial, Swift used frank language to relay the terrifying incident, and refused to tiptoe around details. For example, when she was asked why the photos from the meet-and-greet didn't show Mueller groping her backside under her skirt as she had alleged, Swift replied: "Because my ass is located at the back of my body."

Later, the singer told Time: "I was angry. In that moment, I decided to forego any courtroom formalities and just answer the questions the way it happened. This man hadn’t considered any formalities when he assaulted me, and his lawyer didn’t hold back on my mom — why should I be polite?" 

The magazine's other "Silence Breakers" include actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, who have both been at the forefront of the movement to expose disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein as a sexual predator. 

"I started talking about Harvey the minute that it happened," Judd told Time. "Literally, I exited that hotel room at the Peninsula Hotel in 1997 and came straight downstairs to the lobby, where my dad was waiting for me, because he happened to be in Los Angeles from Kentucky, visiting me on the set. And he could tell by my face — to use his words — that something devastating had happened to me. I told him. I told everyone."

Additional "Silence Breakers" include Uber engineer Susan Fowler, #MeToo pioneer Tarana Burke, and Oregon State Senator Sara Gelser, among many more.