President Obama is on the list. So is Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Edward Snowden and the wee royal infant Prince George. This is not the list to be on, though. They are among the “25 Least Influential People of 2013,” according to GQ magazine.
Mr. Obama is No. 17 on the roster.
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“I have spent the majority of this man’s presidency watching bad things happen, then hearing a thoughtful speech about how we have to make sure the bad things never happen again, and then watching as nothing gets done,” says Drew Magary, who made the determinations.
Anthony D. Weiner is No. 2, while Dennis Rodman wins first place by merit of his visit this year to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
Also named: celebrity chef Paula Deen and Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone, who decided to put a picture of accused Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover earlier this year.
“When your magazine has a habit of putting dreamy photos of rock stars on its cover and you choose to put a terrorist on your cover using a dreamy photo that makes him look like a rock star, you shouldn’t be surprised when people accuse you of trying to make that terrorist look like a rock star,” Mr. Margary points out.
And about that list. It could have been longer.
“The hardest part for us was keeping it to 25,” the writer observes.
The publication also has a hall of fame showcasing “those who have been so un-influential for so long that we’re retiring their jerseys forever.”
Among the occupants: Donald Trump and House Speaker John A. Boehner, who has been deemed “basically an orange traffic cone at this point,” Mr. Margary says.
