Zelensky's Eye Color on 'Time' Person of the Year Cover Raises Questions

The naming of Volodymyr Zelensky as Time magazine's "2022 Person of the Year" has been widely welcomed, although some have questioned one aspect of the cover image of the Ukrainian president: his eyes.

The annual award marks an event or person considered to have had the most influence on global events over the past year. This year, both Zelensky and "the spirit of Ukraine" were given the honor with the image of the leader in the center of the dramatic image, surrounded by people and Ukrainian flags.

But the color of his eyes piqued the curiosity of one Twitter user, Stuart Benson, who tweeted the image, asking: "Did they forget to turn off the blue filter on Zelensky's eyes or is that on purpose?" The Ukrainian president's eyes are brown.

Another Twitter user put a side-by-side comparison of the cover next to a photo of Zelensky and wrote "I'm f****** dying is this for real" in a tweet that as of Friday had been liked over 10,000 times.

Newsweek's director of photography, Lauren Joseph, said she believed "the images around Zelensky appeared to be reflecting in his eyes which is another nod to the Ukrainian flag."

Newsweek reached out to Time magazine for comment.

The magazine's editor, Edward Felsenthal described the decision for the award as "the most clear-cut in memory" and that it marked how "there was a coming together around this cause, around this country."

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Zelensky has appeared on the frontlines and addressed lawmakers from around the world in video addresses, spurring standing ovations in numerous government buildings.

Felsenthal paid tribute to Zelensky's "information offensive" and the way he has "galvanized the world in a way we haven't seen in decades."

Time first presented its Person of the Year award in 1927 to aviator Charles Lindbergh, with the accolade going last year to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose highest-profile action in 2022 was his purchase of Twitter.

On Friday, Zelensky said he had a discussion with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak about the latest Russian attacks on his country's infrastructure. A British government spokesperson said that the Ukrainian leader had thanked the United Kingdom "for its crucial support to help restore power through the supply of generators"

"We discussed the implementation of our 'peace formula,' cooperation on defense capabilities and energy stability of Ukraine," Zelensky tweeted.