Time's 2024 Person of the Year Finalists Include Several Controversial Picks

Time just unveiled the finalists in the race to be named its 2024 Person of the Year, and its shortlist of names is nothing short of controversial.

The announcement came on the morning of Dec. 9 (approximately 72 hours before it's set to officially declare its 2024 Person of the Year) in a special NBC Today broadcast and an accompanying post initially published by the magazine.

🤩🤩 SIGN UP for Parade's Trending News newsletter & we'll keep you in the know on the viral pop culture moments & celebrity news everyone is talking about 🗞️🗞️

This year's shortlist includes a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and even royal types, and shortly after it was released, social media erupted in disbelief—and disagreement.

On the list for the 2024 Person of the Year are a few titleholders already, including Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, as well as would-be first-timers Kate Middleton, Joe Rogan, Russian economist Yulia Navalnaya, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

In an apparent effort to get ahead of any backlash, Monday's report began with a reminder for readers, explaining that the title isn't only awarded to those who've made a positive impact but the biggest impact: "Since 1927, TIME has named a person, group, or concept that had the biggest impact—for good or for ill—on the world over the previous 12 months."

Still, social media was, unsurprisingly, taken aback by some of the names, leaving gifs of head scratching and other symbols of surprise in the comments of Today's Instagram post announcing the news.

"LOL," someone else simply wrote, while others dubbed the list "crazy" and "ridiculous."

"What are the qualifications?" another joked on X (formerly Twitter).

"An absolute joke," one more X user shared in part.

Last year, international pop superstar Taylor Swift was named Time's Person of the Year, famously posing alongside one of her cats. On prior occasions, the magazine's editors have awarded politicians like Harris and Joe Biden (2020), Barack Obama (2012 and 2008), Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger (1972); philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates (2005); and more nefarious names like Adolf Hitler (1938) with the commemorative title.

Next: Al Roker and Dylan Dreyer Reignite Contentious Holiday Debate