(Web Desk) – Time Magazine will soon reveal who will be the 2023 Person of the Year as is customary with each year’s announcement.
Nine candidates for the award were revealed during Monday’s episode of NBC’s Today Show in recognition of having ‘had the most influence on the world throughout the previous twelve months’.
The expectation for the winner’s moniker is strong, ranging from Mattel’s Barbie after her blockbuster cinematic adaption in 2023 to China’s President Xi Jinping, who made a comeback to the list as the 2017 runner-up for the title.
Pakistani actor Osman Khalid Butt took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice his disapproval of the list and insisted upon the true deservers of the prize. “Time’s Person of the Year should have been Palestinian journalists, doctors and civilians who’ve shown incredible courage, grace and resilience in the face of a genocide,” the actor declared.
Osman drew attention to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, the recipient of the 2022 award, and expressed disapproval of the award’s partial recognition of Ukraine without a commensurate gesture towards Palestine. “What of the spirit of Palestine?” he inquired, if 2022 might go to Zelensky and the “spirit of Ukraine”?
Zelenskyy became well-known in 2022 as a person of inspiration and hope, especially in light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The president received praise for exercising strong leadership during the crisis. “Zelensky’s success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious,” writes Time correspondent Simon Shuster.
After the October 7 Hamas attack, Israel launched an intensive military operation in Gaza and the West Bank. Since then, celebrities have taken an active stance in favour of Palestine’s freedom. Osman has been using social media to fight Zionist narratives and boost Palestinian voices. He has been a frequent critic of Israel’s brutality.
Quoting a post on X that stated, “You say Zionist like it’s an insult!,” Osman said, “Because it is, you imbecile. It is a colonialist, racist movement responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.” In response to Piers Morgan sharing an image depicting the extent of destruction in Palestine, wherein he added, “Israel deliberately bombing Gaza’s largest refugee camp, even if a Hamas commander was there, is outrageous and indefensible,” Osman said, “Welcome to the right side of history.”