#MeToo Movement Named Time 'Person Of The Year'

'The Silence Breakers' win Time's Person of Year: Women who started the #MeToo movement and triggered the widespread sexual harassment scandal beat Trump to the 2017 title...
Time has named 'The Silence Breakers' - the women behind the #MeToo movement - as their Person of the Year for 2017.

The announcement was made Wednesday morning on the Today show by the magazine's Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal.

'This is the fastest moving social change we've seen in decades and it began with individual acts of courage by hundreds of women - and some men too - who came forward to tell their stories of sexual harassment and assault,' Felsenthal said.

President Trump, who himself has been accused of sexual assault, and China's President Xi Jinping were runner up and third place, respectively.

In the wake of sexual misconduct revelations about Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and dozens of other men, millions worldwide have shared their stories about being sexually harassed and assaulted.

The movement began spontaneously in October after actress-activist Alyssa Milano followed 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.

Both Burke and Milano appeared on the Today show Wednesday morning to take part in the announcement.

The cover for the Person of the Year issued includes the likes of Taylor Swift, who testified in court about a radio DJ groping her. The issue includes Swift's first interview about the case since the trial.

She told the magazine: 'I think that this moment is important for awareness, for how parents are talking to their children, and how victims are processing their trauma, whether it be new or old. The brave women and men who have come forward this year have all moved the needle in terms of letting people know that this abuse of power shouldn't be tolerated.'

Ashley Judd also graced the cover as one of the first actresses to speak out against Weinstein.

Other women on the cover were less known, but just as essential to the movement.

Susan Fowler is a former Uber employee who spoke out about the toxic work environment at the company that eventually led CEO Travis Kalanick to lose his job.

Adama Iwu is a lobbyist who launched the campaign 'We Said Enough' in October to raise awareness of sexual harassment.

Another woman included on the cover is Isabel Pascual, a Mexican migrant field worker who has also been the victim of sexual harassment.

One woman's face is partially obscured, a symbol of the women who chose to remain anonymous and the more that will come forward.