Why Was Gretchen Carlson Excluded From Time's 'Silence Breakers'?

Jenna Amatulli
Updated

Time Magazine named The Silence Breakers ― “the individuals who set off a national reckoning over the prevalence of sexual harassment” ― its Person of the Year for 2017 and, strangely, Gretchen Carlson was not one of those singled out.

In July 2016, the news anchor and author filed a lawsuit against then-Fox News CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. Carlson’s allegations and suit incited mass media coverage, encouraging six more women to also accuse Ailes of sexual harassment.

Ailes resigned from his powerful post within weeks (and died this past May). Carlson has since become an advocate for speaking out against sexual harassment, even writing a book titled Be Fierce.

(Photo: Santiago Felipe via Getty Images)
(Photo: Santiago Felipe via Getty Images)

The Time cover story discusses how the sexual misconduct allegations that emerged in early October against film executive Harvey Weinstein, including accounts from prominent actresses like Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, launched a full-steam ahead movement of victims of sexual assault and harassment to come forward and name names.

“Emboldened by Judd, Rose McGowan and a host of other prominent accusers, women everywhere have begun to speak out about the inappropriate, abusive and in some cases illegal behavior they’ve faced,” reads the piece.

“When multiple harassment claims bring down a charmer like former Today show host Matt Lauer, women who thought they had no recourse see a new, wide-open door,” it continues. “When a movie star says #MeToo, it becomes easier to believe the cook who’s been quietly enduring for years.”

It’s likely Carlson wasn’t included as a silence breaker by Time because her story broke in 2016. But it struck many as a glaring omission that she’s not mentioned at all in Time’s original package.

Carlson has termed the Weinstein revelations a “watershed moment” and said “this is the tipping point I’ve been working so hard for over the last 15 months. People are finally saying ‘enough.’”

She’s had a part in this whistleblowing moment, and Time should have recognized that.

Carlson didn’t immediately respond for comment regarding her exclusion, but she posted about it on social media, saying “it’s ok” to those who have remarked on her not being included. She’s also sent well wishes to the silence breakers:

“Congrats to all the women. When I jumped off the cliff in 2016 I could have never imagined we’d be here. Ironically today I introduce legislation to change the world for women taking secret arbitration clauses out of employment contracts,” Carlson wrote.

Carlson joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington on Wednesday who introduced legislation to remove forced arbitration clauses from employment agreements. The bill’s backers say the clauses help keep sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaints under wraps.

Also on Wednesday, many Democrat lawmakers ― including some pushing the arbitration clause measure ― called for Sen. Al Franken to resign as the number of sexual assault allegations against the Minnesota Democrat keeps growing.

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Despite Carlson’s chipper response on Twitter, others are still not happy she wasn’t mentioned by Time. Here’s what people are saying:

Time magazine did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment, but did publish an article on Monday afternoon about the past coverage that led to the Silence Breakers. Carlson is mentioned in that piece, along with the Bill Cosby accusers, the Women’s March and others.

This piece has been updated to note the Times article on Monday afternoon.

Also on HuffPost

Jess

“I was walking home from work one day and I was on the phone, just about to cross the road. A guy stopped his car in the middle of the road and asked me to get in his car. I said no and tried to walk around it, so he drove his car to block my way. I tried to walk behind it but he did the same thing. He then shouted, 'Get in my car or I’ll run you over!' I then slammed my fists on the car bonnet and shouted at him, which I think shook him so it gave me some time to cross the road and run away.”

Florence

"Two summers ago I was walking to a supermarket in Marseille. A guy was getting out of his car and said to me, 'La pute c'est magnifique [Whores are beautiful],' as I walked past."
"Two summers ago I was walking to a supermarket in Marseille. A guy was getting out of his car and said to me, 'La pute c'est magnifique [Whores are beautiful],' as I walked past."

Monica

"I was on the subway, and I was approached by an older man who started asking me questions. We were the only ones on the platform, and he asked me if I was single, if I was a lesbian, and finally, 'Can I show you my penis?' He was cornering me between the platform and the edge; luckily the train pulled in at that moment, otherwise I don't know what he would have done."

Gina

"I just moved to New York and one day I decided to go downtown. I sat down on the train and one guy got on and stood right in front of me holding onto the rail. I turned my face and body to the right instead of his body in front of me. Then, I see a weird movement happening to my left, in the corner of my eye. It ended up being his penis sticking out of his zipper of his pants and he was rubbing it. I quickly turned my eyes back. I just thought it was sick that he even thought to do that right in front of my face. I am a short girl so anyone that stands in front of me I am eye level to that part of the body. There were tons of seats open and he still chose to stand in front of me. So I quickly just thought to get off at the next stop. I didn't really know what to do. It was a weird experience." 

Maya

"After leaving a nightclub with my friends and my girlfriend, we decided to get a bus to another venue. As we were waiting for the bus, a man approached me and started trying to chat me up. I said straightaway that I'm a lesbian, and that I was with my girlfriend. He then took that as some sort of challenge, and proceeded to tell me I just needed his dick and tried to expose himself to me. Fortunately, my male friend stepped in and eventually he managed to make him leave. The whole incident lasted about 20 minutes in total and was quite traumatic."

Gabriella

“When I was 15, I was walking home from school like I always did, in my school uniform. This time, however, a man kept kissing at me from his van. I decided to ignore him since it repulsed me, but he persisted to do it and call out remarks. After walking further up the road I turned around to notice that he had stopped, parked the van, opened the doors and was coming directly at me. Luckily I was around the corner from my house, so I ran down the hill to get home and didn’t look back.”

Danielle

"I was sitting on a coach traveling through Croatia, and four guys sat in the row of seats in front of me. One of them sat next to me uninvited and started making conversation. Over the next two hours he kept moving closer and closer to me, even trying to touch and stroke me. He tried to put his hand under my romper and each time I would tell him to leave me alone. There was a couple who was sitting across from us but they did nothing the whole time. When the coach stopped, I tried to move past him and he touched my bum."

Jess

“When I was about 12 or 13 me and my friends used to get the bus to school and a man who must have been about 40 tried to take photos on his phone up our skirts -- the police ended up getting called but said they couldn't do anything about it in the end.”
“When I was about 12 or 13 me and my friends used to get the bus to school and a man who must have been about 40 tried to take photos on his phone up our skirts -- the police ended up getting called but said they couldn't do anything about it in the end.”

Dorina

"I was walking down a street in Manhattan when I saw a man walking toward me. His daughter was holding his hand and his young son was behind him on a scooter. As the distance between us got shorter I could tell that he was intensely staring at me, studying my legs, my sundress, my cleavage. Just as our paths crossed he lunged toward me and whispered, 'Mmmm, I’d like to taste your chocolate.' I was most horrified that his daughter was right there, watching her father verbally assault me, while his son was behind learning from his actions."

Juliette

"I was 19, and I had just moved to Paris. I was in a crowded train and there was a guy pressed up against my back, then he started to move against me. I first thought he was trying to get off the train, but then he started to whisper in my ear. I turned around to face him, trying to look angry, but then he put his hands on my hips and started grinding on me. So I stepped on his toes hard, and then stormed out of the train." 

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.