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People

Leaders Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin, as well as entertainers Pete Davidson and Mary J. Blige are among Time magazine’s wide-ranging selections for the 100 most influential people of 2022.

The list, which came out Monday, includes fan-favorites and controversial figures, with each person designated as an artist, innovator, titan, leader, icon or pioneer.

“I hear in President Zelenskyy’s voice the relentless determination of a man who believes profoundly in his duty to his people, and lives up daily to the solemn responsibility of leading his nation through this dark and difficult hour,” President Joe Biden wrote in an essay.

Biden made the Time 100 list for the third consecutive year.

Davidson, a comedian currently dating Kim Kardashian, ended his 8-year tenure on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend.

“Pete’s appeal to the world has everything to do with his authenticity,” rapper Jack Harlow wrote. “He doesn’t try to hide the person he is. It’s a classic recipe for success and connection.”

Pete Davidson

Other entertainers chosen include Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, “The Batman” star Zoe Kravitz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Andrew Garfield and Zendaya.

Included under the “Titans” billing were Apple CEO Tim Cook and Oprah Winfrey, while singer-songwriter Blige headlined the “Icons” section.

Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor who polarized Americans by keeping his state open during the early stages of COVID-19, made the list under “Leaders.”

“During the pandemic, most people stayed home, and those who didn’t probably moved to Florida,” Jeb Bush wrote.

Time began releasing its list of the 100 most influential people of the year in 1999. It is meant to reflect people who have a significant global influence that can be perceived as positive or negative.

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The guitar played by Kurt Cobain for Nirvana’s breakout 1991 single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video has sold for $4.5 million at auction, the sellers said Sunday.

The 1969 Fender Mustang Competition Lake Placid blue finish electric guitar was expected to fetch a more modest $600,000, said the seller, Julien’s Auctions. But Indianapolis Colts owner and CEO Jim Irsay paid a lot more, not least of all because a chunk of the proceeds will go toward benefiting mental illness. Cobain shot himself in 1994.

“I am thrilled to preserve and protect another piece of American culture that changed the way we looked at world,” said Irsay. “The fact that a portion of the proceeds will go toward our effort to kick the stigma surrounding mental health makes this acquisition even more special to me.”

The left-handed guitar was Cobain’s favorite. In a Guitar World interview, he said: “Out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favorite. I’ve only owned two of them.”

Cobain’s family will donate a portion of the proceeds from the guitar and other items to the Irsays’ mental health awareness organization, Kicking The Stigma.

The Jim Irsay Collection won a bidding war among collectors the world over.

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NEW YORK — The Tony Awards Administration Committee said Monday that the legendary actor Angela Lansbury will receive a 2022 special Tony for lifetime achievement in the theater, her sixth.

FILE - Angela Lansbury appears during the press day for "Blithe Spirit" at the Ahmanson Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Dec.16, 2014. The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced Monday that the legendary actor will receive a 2022 special Tony for lifetime achievement in the theater, making it her sixth. (Photo by Casey Curry/Invision/AP, File)

Lansbury won Tonys for “Mame” in 1966, “Dear World” in 1969, “Gypsy” in 1974, “Sweeney Todd” in 1979 and “Blithe Spirit” in 2009.

“Angela Lansbury’s contributions to the stage are insurmountable,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, in a statement.

The “Murder, She Wrote” star has six Golden Globes and 18 Emmy nominations as well as an honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in Motion Pictures.

Ariana DeBose will host the Tonys on June 12.

From combined wire services

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