The Time 100, which lists 100 people Time believes to be the most influential in the world, is now out. It includes obvious choices such as President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, but also gay fashion designer Michael Kors and gay singer Frank Ocean, and lesbian fashion “tastemaker” Jenna Lyons. However, the word “gay” does not appear with their entries.
The short text for each selection is written by other famous people. John Legend wrote the Ocean piece. Interesting, it says he came out, but not of what—for those who didn’t know, that’s code for gay.
Legend writes: “Frank is brilliant. The day I started writing with him, it was clear that he has a very interesting mind and a distinctive way of expressing himself. He was fearless and innately creative. You talk to some people in this business and you get the sense that they’re very focused on radio: what will be a hit or won’t be a hit. You never get that from Frank. The focus is on creating something that’s beautiful, that’s great art. Frank broke a lot of rules with his album Channel Orange. He wasn’t focused on ‘What’s gonna be my single?’ And obviously, one of the cardinal rules was that he wasn’t supposed to come out. But he did, and he did it in a way that speaks to what kind of artist he is, in a beautifully written letter to his fans. The day the letter was published, he came over to my house for a July 4 barbecue, where he was among friends who supported him and showed him love. How fitting that he released his ‘declaration’ on Independence Day. I think Frank’s career will be defined by his fearlessness and his artistic freedom. He has the talent, the ability and the brilliance to have an impact for a long time. He will follow his muse wherever it goes—he’s not the kind of artist to adhere to everyone else’s schedule. That’s what makes him special.”
Fashion designer Zac Posen wrote the Michael Kors piece, which also does not use the word gay: “When I started designing fashion in high school, around 1996, Michael Kors was the epitome of the new look of American sportswear: elegant luxury, easy glamour and effortless chic. His clothes merged the worlds of fashion and accessibility, which isn’t easy—there was a sense of cleanliness in his designs. Nearly two decades later, Michael is poised to become fashion’s next billionaire. It takes a great deal of resilience and staying power to last for decades, and it’s a testament to Michael’s very clear vision. He’s larger than life, a ball of energy and so warm and personable. It’s his love of people, life and culture that exudes in his fashion globally. Michael takes the wonderful heritage of American sportswear into the future, translating it internationally for every woman and man who wants to be a part of the American Dream.”
Prabal Gurung wrote the Lyons piece: “In 22 years at J. Crew, where she is now executive creative director, she has made fashion relatable. She’s allowed mothers and daughters to dress with the same kind of attitude. I buy J. Crew, my mom does, my sister does, my niece and nephew do. She understands our zeitgeist. Being fashionable doesn’t mean being trendy; it means having a sense of style. Jenna has made J. Crew more than a brand or a company — it’s a philosophy that believes in style.”
Lesbian actress Jodie Foster writes the essay about Time 100 selection Jennifer Lawrence: “You’ll remember where you were when you first felt it, how you were stuck to one spot like a small animal considering its end. The Jennifer Lawrence Stare. It cuts a searing swath in your gut. A reckoning. I remember going to the cutting rooms of Winter’s Bone. I thought, Sure, this girl can act. But, man, this girl can also just be.”
AIDS researchers Hannah Gay, Katherine Luzuriaga and Deborah Persaud were also selected. Mark Dybul,executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, writes: “These three women are responsible for orchestrating an incredible breakthrough: functionally curing a newborn of AIDS. By giving the infant, who contracted HIV from its mother, anti-HIV drugs within hours of birth, Gay, a pediatrician at the University of Mississippi; Luzuriaga, an immunologist from the University of Massachusetts; and Persaud, a virologist at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, managed to battle back the virus so the child, now 21â 2 years old, no longer needs medications and shows no signs of HIV. We scientists are trained to be careful about generalizing about one case. Yet this result gives us more ammunition in the fight against HIV and AIDS. It adds substance to our conviction—not yet proven but heading in the right direction—that we can prevent this disease from infecting newborn babies. There’s even hope that adults may benefit from the same rapid treatment immediately after HIV infection. Following the success with the newborn, another study reported that 14 more patients have been able to control HIV. These findings show that early HIV treatment has even greater benefits than previously thought. With other preventive measures and better science, we now have a historic opportunity to control the spread of HIV.”
THE COMPLETE TIME 100 LIST:
Christina Aguilera, singer
Noynoy Aquino, President of the Philippines
Alex Atala, Brazilian chef
Mario Balotelli, football player, A.C. Milan
Joyce Banda, President of Malawi
Joaquim Barbosa, Justice Minister, Supreme Federal Court of Brazil
Jens Bergensten and Markus Persson, creators, Minecraft
Beyoncé, singer
Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States
Dr. Kimberly Blackwell, physician and medical oncologist, Duke Cancer Institute
Scooter Braun, talent manager
John Brennan, Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Magnus Carlsen, Norwegian chess grandmaster
Perry Chen, CEO and co-founder, Kickstarter
Palaniappan Chidambaram, Indian Finance Minister
Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey
Tom Coburn, U.S. Senator from Oklahoma
Jared Cohen, Director of Google Ideas
David Coleman, President of the College Board
Ertharin Cousin, executive director, United Nations World Food Programme
Bryan Cranston, actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, actor
Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank
Lena Dunham, actor, director, producer
David Einhorn, president and founder, Greenlight Capital
Christopher Fabian and Erica Kochi, co-leaders of UNICEF’s Innovation Unit
Jimmy Fallon, host, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome
Drs. Hannah Gay, Katherine Luzuriaga and Deborah Persaud, AIDS researchers
Gabrielle Giffords, former Congresswoman from Arizona
Eric Greitens, founder, the Mission Continues; former Navy SEAL
Vrinda Grover, New Delhi—based lawyer and activist
Fethullah Gulen, Turkish educator and Islamic scholar
Kamala Harris, attorney general of California
Jonathan Ive, senior vice president of industrial design, Apple Inc.
Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Nigerian actor and singer
LeBron James, basketball player, Miami Heat
Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama
Jay Z, artist and entrepreneur
Wilfredo “Choco” De Jesà ï s, pastor
Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
Mindy Kaling, writer and actor, The Mindy Project
Aamir Khan, actor and activist
Kim Jong Un, Supreme Leader of North Korea
Jimmy Kimmel, host, Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng, co-founders, Coursera
Michael Kors, designer
Oh-Hyun Kwon, CEO, Samsung
Yair Lapid, Israeli Finance Minister
Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president, National Rifle Association
Jennifer Lawrence, actor
Kai-Fu Lee, CEO, Innovation Works
Li Na, tennis player
Jenna Lyons, president, J. Crew
Roya Mahboob, CEO and founder of Afghan Citadel Software Co.
Hilary Mantel, novelist
Susana Martinez, governor of New Mexico
Moncef Marzouki, President of Tunisia
Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo
Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge
Miguel, Singer
Hassan Sheik Mohamud, President of Somalia
Elon Musk, CEO and founder, SpaceX; co-founder, Tesla Motors and PayPal
Mary Nichols, chairman, California Air Resources Board
Barack Obama, President of the United States
Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States
Abdullah Ocalan, founder and leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)
Frank Ocean, musician
Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea
Rand Paul, U.S. Senator from Kentucky
Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico
Peng Liyuan, wife of Xi Jinping, China’s First Lady
Ren Zhengfei, CEO, Huawei
Shonda Rhimes, creator of Scandal
Gina Rinehart, chairman, Hancock Prospecting
Ed Ruscha, artist
Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
Ted Sarandos, chief content officer, Netflix
George Saunders, writer
Igor Sechin, president, Rosneft
Andrew Sheng, president, Fung Global Institute
Steven Spielberg, director
Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese opposition leader, chairperson of the National League for Democracy
Kevin Systrom, co-founder and CEO, Instagram
Peter Theisinger and Richard Cook, project managers of the Mars Curiosity Rover
Justin Timberlake, entertainer
Travis Tygart, CEO, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
Lindsey Vonn, alpine ski racer
Wang Shu, architect
Xi Jinping, President of China
Sam Yagan, CEO, Match Inc.; co-founder, OKCupid
Tadashi Yanai, president and CEO, Uniqlo
Don Yeomans, head of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office
Malala Yousafzai, teenage activist
Bassem Youssef, satirist
See time100.time.com/2013/04/18.