Time’s Person of the Year shortlist sparks confusion: ‘Evil, privilege and Taylor Swift’

Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year short list was met with a long string of commentary as fans questioned and criticised this year’s prospects.

The names of the nine candidates were revealed on 4 December as the finalists for the publication’s annual recognition. The list includes Taylor Swift, Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, King Charles III, Trump prosecutors, Sam Altman, Jerome Powell, Barbie, and Hollywood strikers.

According to the publication, the honoree is chosen from “a selection of the individual, group, or concept that has had the most influence on the world throughout the previous 12 months,” meaning the individual or individuals aren’t required to have effected beneficial change but rather left a form of immutable influence.

It’s hardly a surprise the “Anti-Hero” creator is in the running this year, as the artist just embarked on the international leg of her Eras Tour in South America. More than that, the 33-year-old made headlines when her concert movie surpassed $100m in ticket sales globally one week before the film premiered.

And this year, the publication didn’t stop short of including fictional characters in their consideration either. Barbie, the popular plastic Mattel doll, saw its return on the big screen in Greta Gerwig’s box office summer hit, Barbie. The live-action film broke world records, gaining over $155m in North American ticket sales during the opening weekend in July.

Groups weren’t neglected from the running either, as Time recognised the work done by the Hollywood strikers who just came off a year-long stint joining the Writer’s Guild of America and the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG)-AFTRA in their strikes.

While a good per centage of the candidates seemed to have used their influence for the betterment of society, other names on Time’s shortlist left readers confused.

“Okay… who had Barbie competing with Vladimir Putin for Time Person of the Year in their 2023 bats***tery bingo card?” one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Um Putin? Seriously no?” another X user agreed.

Another person added: “Time recognising evil people, privileged people, and Taylor Swift who is okay and unlucky to be listed amongst those undesirables.”

“I’m thinking Taylor Swift wishes she could get off that list,” someone else suggested.

One humoured fan quipped: “Barbie has far more humanity.”

Meanwhile, one individual clarified the confusion around why Time would include Putin in their short list. “A lot of people don’t seem to understand what that means. It doesn’t mean ‘best person who did the best things’, it means the person who had the biggest impact on world events that year, for better or for worse,” they wrote.

Others hypothesised about who will win the honour this year.

“As much as I’d like Barbie to take this, imma be realistic and say it’s Taylor. She was literally everywhere this year. Barbie was mostly our summer vibe, Taylor was 2023,” one woman speculated.

Time’s 2023 Person of the Year will be announced on Wednesday 6 December.