Every once in a while, humanity will just . . . surprise and delight me in the best way possible. As a group, humanity does veer gradually toward good, with a few straggling outliers disappointing the rest of us. There are moments, however, where we finally just get it right. And it’s magical.
Today, such a moment has occurred: Laverne Cox has claimed the top spot on the Time 100 readers’ poll. And she knocked Justin Bieber out of the top spot for her win. High-five, world!
According to Time magazine, Bieber had the top spot for some reason up until Friday, when Cox’s fan base came out in full force to catapult her to number one.
And really, why wouldn’t they? Cox scored a role on one of the most highly recognized new shows and used her fame to help out her community and increase trans visibility in the media. Bieber peed in a mop bucket. One of these is objectively better than the other.
Now to play us out, here’s Cox’s acceptance speech for the Stephen F Kolzak Award at the GLAAD awards. Just in case you doubted her commitment to the cause.