While I don’t believe the annual Time 100 list is that important in the grand scheme of things, I do enjoy that Time Magazine tries to cull a list of the 100 most influential entertainers, scientists, politicians, humanitarians, etc. This year, Time did six covers: Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicki Minaj, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christine Lagarde and Priyanka Chopra. I sort of want to frame the Lin-Manuel one. Two years ago, no one would have thought that Lin-Manuel would be where he is today: winning Grammys, Pulitzers and what will probably be an enormous sweep at this year’s Tonys. You can see the full Time 100 package here.
Leo is not on the list as an entertainer, but as an activist/advocate for the environment, and John Kerry wrote up Leo’s blurb. Jennifer Lawrence wrote Adele’s blurb! The Time 100 list also includes: Adele, Caitlyn Jenner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Stephen Curry, Karlie Kloss, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Lester Holt, Justin Trudeau, Ryan Coogler, Gina Rodriguez, Ted Cruz, Pope Francis, Tim Cook, Aung San Suu Kyi, Ronda Rousey, Hillary Clinton, Paul Ryan, Riccardo Tisci and many more. Pres. Obama made the list again, his 11th time, the most anyone has ever made the list.
Random thoughts… I have no idea why they needed to come so close on Leo’s face. I love the Minaj cover though, and I love that she was included on the list because she IS increasingly one of the most important women in music today. I like the list is racially diverse, but it’s still way too American-centric. Also, once again, Lin-Manuel is EVERYTHING.
Covers courtesy of Time Magazine.
Loving the people included on the covers this go around.
I have to inform myself about the others but Lin Manuel and Zuckerberg have done amazing things in their own respective ah for trying to address inequality.
I will always know Lin from when he was much younger and did an educational song about Silent Letters being Ninjas. So happy to see how far he’s come.
I am also so proud of Priyanka for being an activist as well as a non-stereotyped Indian woman on a racially diverse show.
We are big Lin-Manuel Miranda fans in our home (since In the Heights). He really has had such an amazing year. Glad he received a cover.
I’m hoping he also adds “Oscar winner” to the list of achievements Kaiser outlined. He is one of three composers scoring/creating the music for Disney’s next animated movie Moana which opens in Nov. EGOT baby!!
Priyanka is freaking gorgeous. I can’t take my eyes off her. The only reason I actually watch that show is to stare at her.
Lin is everything.
There are no words for Priyanka, she’s just freaking beautiful and I love her raspy deep voice.
Also her eyebrows, why Lord, why does she have all that bounty and you leave some of us with none?
She did have a huge amount of plastic surgery though. Nothing wrong with that, but she pretty much has a new face.
Can someone tell me what so influential about her? I’m not that familiar with her, I only know she’s a beauty queen turned actress.
@Eternal Side Eye – I swear, I would gladly donate you some of my eyebrow hair (South Asian genes ahoy!)……if you could also take a little of the body hair that comes with it, off my hands.
I’ve come to love my eyebrows after they survived the early 2000s intact but I don’t enjoy feeling like a cross between a cactus and the Yeti, or having to get it ripped off with wax.
@Locke Lamora I posted this below.
She’s an UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and she has a charity that promotes education for girls in India.
Love Priyanka but dear god, she is a terrible actress. Especially on Quantico. Her emotional scenes are so bad, it make me cringe. As an Indian woman, I am LOVING the rise of South Asian actors and actresses on television. Hope it translates to film soon!
I think she is beautiful . I don’t think it that she is terrible it that the show is terrible. It has a lot promise but it just went down hill . I never understood how she could be on the run and have full on make up
@Kennedy – she is! Terrible, that is. I’m happy to have an Indian woman onscreen at all but damn do I wish she had the acting chops of Archie Panjabi or Kal Penn or Bae Doona (if we’re talking Hollywood/tv hiring Asian actors)
It was a badly-written character TBH….
The problem is she tries to hide her accent on the show. That is not how she really speaks. They should have just had her leave her Indian accent alone (which really isn’t that strong). I mean the character was supposed to have lived in India for many years anyways so an accent wouldn’t be that crazy of an idea.
Has Priyanka admitted to plastic surgery? I never knew she had anything done, she’s always looked the same to me. I have seen in her many Bollywood movies and she’s always had that face. Did she get work done before starting her acting career or is this just a rumor?
I have loved Lin since In the Heights and I enjoyed him as a bird real estate agent on Sesame Street. I listen to the Hamilton cast album every single day. I wish I could get tickets, my friend and I want to just start going to NYC once a week to play the ticket lottery (we only live 3 and 1/2 hours away!!)
Priyanka Chopra is a natural beauty. she’s never has any plastic surgery. if you see her school pics, she looks same.
Get in on the digital lottery! It’s more competitive of course, but you could totally enter e’reday.
“I have to inform myself about the others but Lin Manuel and Zuckerberg have done amazing things in their own respective ah for trying to address inequality.”
Right? For instance I really wonder what DiCaprio is onto the cover for? He hasn’t been vocal about environmental issues in so many years. He has become the ultimate bore and not even his pity Oscar will change anything about it. He really shouldn’t be paraded around so much without anything to show these days. He isn’t someone I would consider a classic quite yet. SnoooozeCaprio.
I’m not a Leo fan by any stretch but he is still super active in regards to the environment. He donated $15 million to various environmental causes earlier this year, he’s just spoken to the UN about climate change, he’s been on various environmental trips to raise awareness this year alone, his foundation continues to do work, he is narrating documentaries, and a whole host of other stuff. He is very active when it comes to his environmental work.
Nicky Minaj.. seriously?
A big record scratch for sure.
my thoughts exactly. ditto for Karlie Kloss.
Karlie is one I get. Her coding charity and her promotion of female coders has been getting a ton of attention.
In alot of magazines like Vogue and Elle in the last year or so it feels like Karlie is in every second ad. I think she could become/ is already turning into the next Gisele type global super model. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but definitely influential over large groups of people.
I don’t think this should be surprising. Name another notable, truly talented female rapper since the era of Missy Elliott, Lil Kim, Left Eye, Queen Latifah, etc. Now name one that was able to successfully crossover.
Nikki Minaj is smart, talented, self/socially aware, and a great business woman who knew exactly how to market herself in the beginning to get the leverage she needed to become who she truly is. You may not agree with her lyrics or her style, but you can’t deny that in a world where she is pretty much standing alone…she deserves her spot on that list.
Agreed. She had all the trappings of a one hit rapper but transformed into someone much more impactful. I like her boldness with no apologies.
Seriously. And maybe instead of dismissing her right off the bat you could try looking up the things she has said and done regarding various social issues.
Please watch her time 100 interview. Then look at the years of interviews where she talks race, feminism, education and her career and come back to us
I absolutely think Leo deserves his spot on the list. His cover is too much of a close-up though, you can barely see who it it.
So do I but I like the cover. It’s intense.
Maybe he his getting the larger lady treatment. You know, not a size 2 so they just took a photo of the face.
Bwahahahaha! That made me spit Coke out my nose!
I can’t take any of these lists seriously anymore.
+100 to Christine Lagarde
Idk I kind of love the list, it seems well rounded, LOVE that Nicki and Lin Manuel are in it, his appearance in Another Round is such an amazing listen
Am I missing something about Priyanka Chopra? Why is the lady from Quantico on the list?
yeah that was my first question too…idk
just IMDB’d her she has a pretty extensive list with Bollywood films and won the Miss World pageant in 2000, but still…
Why not Mindy Kaling, who is much more impressive?
I like Kaling, but she used her power to create a show with a revolving door of white love interests and very little diversity.
Ansari yes, but Kaling basically was given an amazing opportunity and has done buck-all with it.
Even Priyanka’s show is far more diverse featuring women more than men and two unrelated Asian women in a starring role.
You may not like the show, but it’s Kaling’s show – she’s the writer and creator. Chopra is just the star. It’s great to see different people represented on TV, but I disagree that it makes her influential.
@Bridget it’s not that I don’t like the show. It’s that ultimately the only reason to include her would simply be because she’s Indian. She has done nothing unique or brought anything different to media as a whole with her show. Take her out and replace her with any bubbly blonde and you’ve got a recurring prime time cliche.
Why not both? There’s a plethora of Caucasian people on this list and no one’s asking to choose one over the other because they feel they’re contributions are greater. They can both be included.
I can honestly say that I knew nothing about Priyanka prior to her starring in Quantico. I didn’t know about her Bollywood background or the fact that she was a major star in other countries before becoming a star here, but I am intrigued.
I don’t think she should really be on the list – not if Mindy Kaling and Aziz Ansari aren’t. I group them in because they are changing the mold of what television and especially creating your own television looks like. Chopra is a very famous Bollywood actress but Quantico is terrible. I WISH they would have included Ansari and Kaling. I love seeing actors/showrunners/creative types that look like me.
I agree. I like Priyanka a lot, but I’m not sure if I’d truly describe her as influential. If they wanted a WoC who dominates TV – should’ve gone for Taraji Henson or Viola Davis. But was Priyanka included because of that or was her success in India or other factors taken into consideration as well? (I don’t even know how big she is in India).
She’s done a lot of charity work and bringing attention to issues others haven’t, including being on the scene of a disaster to directly address the govt. on camera about the issue.
She’s breaking down barriers. When was the last time you’ve seen an Indian woman as the lead character of an American series?
Oh and she’s also an UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and she has a charity that promotes education for girls in India.
She stars in the show, she didn’t create it or cast it. Heck, I’d have put Mindy Kaling in there before her, or Constance Wu, who I hear regularly speaking out about diversity issues.
There it is!
@Bridget Who said anything about her creating it. A part that would usually go to a White woman went to a woman of color and I love it. You don’t have to like it but to a lot of people in the minority, that’s big.
So yeah, she’s breaking down barriers just like Kerry Washington, Taraji P. Henson and Viola Davis. BTW, they didn’t create their shows either.
Because the list is “Most Influential”. We’re not asking why you guys are fans, but why she’s influential enough to be included on one of the covers.
@Bridget
So then the answer to that question is:
1. Cross over appeal
2. Lots of charity work and UNICEF ambassador
3. Works on a diverse show that subverts the stereotype of Indian women.
For someone in the media’s in what is essentially her first few years as a U.S. star that’s pretty impressive. I would t consider Mindy as influential since I can’t really point to anything she’s done that isn’t ‘for’ Mindy. I don’t believe she’s breaking down barriers or addressing issues in the way Aziz is, her show isn’t diverse and she isn’t doing charity and speaking out against discrimination like Priyanka. So she didn’t get it this go around, I’m sure she’ll be featured in something later.
The Mindy Project?
I don’t take issue with Priyanka’s inclusion though, her show is new and popular, and definitely ground breaking for a network drama.
I definitely think they should have included Aziz Ansari too though, his show was really good and touched on some important topics. ETA Never mind saw he was included, good!
@lucy2
It sounds like they did include Aziz which is awesome.
My issue with the Mindy Project is that it’s quickly becoming a vehicle for Mindy’s ego rather than a show that’s unique in anyway. (Much like what happened with The Good Wife)
The focus on supporting characters has really gone downhill, most of the other characters are stereotyped as hell, and It seems to just exist in this alternate all-white version of New York which is bizarre. I know she’s at the helm and that’s great, but there’s nothing about the show that makes me particularly proud of that fact.
@Bridget Yep What @Eternal Side Eye said and what I clearly stated at the start of this thread. So your question was answered.
Her charitable work (of which I knew nothing) is fantastic, but the Time profile does not even mention it. It only mentions Quantico and Baywatch (ugh). In my opinion, Mindy Kaling did something more consequential–broke down barriers by creating an Indian-American female lead in a rom-com defined by wit and personality, not gorgeousness. And the fact that she is the writer-creator is incredibly important.
I think its a huge deal that a Bollywood actress was able to cross over into Hollywood. She is obviously influential especially considering the size of the Bollywood audience.
Also theres no rule that only one Indian person can be on the list, so I dont get the Aziz argument. Nor is there any reason why Viola or any other WoC cant also be on the list if Priyanka is on it.
Exactly ! I guess people aren’t used to seeing so many people of color finally get some recognition. How dare they put more than one on the list !
Maybe you should actually Google her and her charity work before you jump all over why she shouldn’t be on the list. Time obviously put her on the list for a reason that isn’t because she is on some mediocre tv show.
See my comment above. Time only mentioned the mediocre tv show, not her charity work.
This is supposed to be most influencial of the world or just the US? Because if its the world I get why Priyanka is there. Bollywood stars are huge and even more known than Hollywood stars in many countries, and Priyanka is one of the biggests stars in Bollywood, she is smart and ambitious. She’s done a lot of charity work and she is breaking barriers in this hollywood crossover.
If you look at the entire list, it has influential people from all over the world not just the U.S. I have a problem with Ted Cruz being on the list. Can’t stand him.
She may not be influential to you but as a fellow Indian woman I can say she is VERY influential to me. I grew up NEVER seeing anyone that looked remotely like me on TV. This is HUGE for me and others in the Indian community. I love Priyanka and I’m proud.
for those with interest in royals; Queen Maxima of the Netherlands made the list.
Iirc some people here like her.
Yay maxima! I like her! Thanks for commenting with that.
Only person from the Netherlands too! Sisi will you post this over the latest William thread too?
Haha I did consider doing that, but ended up not doing it
Aziz Ansari is on the list too. The broad city writers wrote his blurb
Love that Leo is included. He and John Kerry have been working together a lot lately and seem to be friends
And love that karlie is included. She does a lot of work with women and young girls to try to influence them to go into science and tech
” Jennifer Lawrence wrote Adele’s blurb!”
Sure she did.
Jennifer’s write-up was sweet and funny, you can hear her voice from the writing. the girls who wrote Aziz ansari blurb werent good tbh.
I agree, Lin Manuel Miranda is amazing!! I am so happy to see a post about him here on Celebitchy!! I love Hamilton and think he deserves every accolade he’s received. Pulitzer? Why, yes! MacArthur Genius Grant- here ya go. Yes, I wish that man nothing but the best and am thrilled to see someone so talented amongst these Time covers.
I cosign all of this, KV. Love him, love Hamilton!!
What has Caitlyn Jenner done? Not raise her kids, is one thing I know.
Though what else? I’m not being facetious anymore, I really want to know what she did for the her community.
For better or worse she seems to have become the face of transgender. I get what you’re saying, though.
You know I’d love to have seen cast of Blackish or maybe Kenya Barris. Blackish is my favourite show on US tv. It really doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. For me and my family it has helped us talk about a lot of issues especially when in comes to race. We dvr it and watch it on Sunday’s after we sit and discuss. Love that show!
Only LIn is well deserved.
The rest meh
I hope the rest of the list isn’t so American centric.
Blackish has quickly become one of my favorite shows of all time. Totally underappreciated.
I appreciate it!!!
I love Blackish. Tackling racial issues with humor is smart and funny.
A little trivia. Did any of you guys know that Anthony Anderson used to be a male stripper before he made it in acting?
I’m addicted to Blackish. It’s one of the few sitcoms that tackle relevant issues with humor. The Black nanny episode and the one where the mother starts dating a younger man had me laughing. I wish CB covered the cast more. The teenaged older daughter is gorgeous and a budding fashion girl. All the kids are hilarious. Can’t gush enough.
The cover of Chopra is gorgeous.
Lin Manuel forever!
I’m so happy for Gina Rodríguez and her’s is written by Rita Moreno!! She is so proud of her heritage and is becoming a real voice and a great example for Latinas.
Love her!!
Meh, I know I’ll sounds like a grump but it’s just another list from an increasingly irrelevant publication. Similar to the People mag awards. How important are these anymore?
In some ways I can see why people might browse a list like this, it helps cut through all the informational clutter and might enlighten a few people. But on the other hand, I don’t know. It just feels, like I said, irrelevant.
Mark Rylance. He is so deserving. Truly one of the most talented actors I have ever seen from stage to screen. I wish he would address the rumors that have plagued him during his career. A former male teacher /director in Milwaukee said they had a torrid love affair that went on for years. The guy never shuts up about it. I wish Rylance would fess up or shut the guy up.
If by influential they mean to alter your appearance to fit a very narrow cartoon image of female beauty that most girls can never match, then Nicki fits.