Time's Person Of The Year: The 'Silence Breakers' Of The #MeToo Movement

One of the biggest and most impactful moments of 2017 arguably did not come from just one person but an entire movement, which is why Time Magazine declared the #metoo movement as its Person of the Year.

READ: A Black Woman Started The Original 'Me Too' Campaign Against Sexual Assault 10 Years Ago

The magazine refers to the millions of people who have come forward with their stories of sexual harassment, assault, and rape as the "Silence Breakers," with the story not only speaking with actresses such as Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd, but a hospital worker, an engineer, a strawberry picker, a housekeeper, and others. The story follows as a number of Hollywood elites such as Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and others have been outed for their alleged sexual misconduct.

"The women and men who have broken their silence span all races, all income classes, all occupations and virtually all corners of the globe," Time writes. "They might labor in California fields, or behind the front desk at New York City’s regal Plaza Hotel, or in the European Parliament. They’re part of a movement that has no formal name. But now they have a voice."

"For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing us all to stop accepting the unacceptable, The Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year," Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthan also said in a statement.

Included in the story was also Tarana Burke, who originally used the phrase "Me Too" to build solidarity among survivors of sexual abuse more than a decade ago.

"If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet," she wrote. She told Time she woke up to more than 30,000 uses of the hashtag and burst into tears.

"Sexual harassment does bring shame," Burke told the magazine. "And I think it's really powerful that this transfer is happening, that these women are able not just to share their shame but to put the shame where it belongs: on the perpetrator."

Also featured in the piece is Terry Crews, who is currently suing William Morris Endeavor agent Adam Venit for allegedly sexually assaulting him last year during a Hollywood party.

"Nobody questions the predator," Crews told Time. "You know why? Because they just expect it. And I expect it. And I just said, 'No more.'"

The announcement follows shortly after Donald Trump made a mockery of the designation, taking to Twitter to say that Time told him he would "probably" be named. However, the magazine spoke on Trump's comment in a tweet of its own, writing: "The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6."

Trump, as well as Colin Kaepernick, Kim Jong Un, and former FBI director Robert Mueller, were included in Time's shortlist for the award, with the magazine stating that the person of the year is "for good or ill."

Read the Time piece here.