Lady Gaga, Banksy make Time’s Most Influential list

The pop star Lady Gaga and graffiti artist Banksy have made Time magazine’s list of the World’s Most Influential People.

The two are included in the Artists section out of the top 100 line-ups of influential people. Other influential artists include Oprah Winfrey, Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, star of the Twilight movies Robert Pattinson, Ashton Kutcher, Prince, entertainment mogul Simon Cowell, Sandra Bullock, and director James Cameron.

Lady Gaga (pictured), we are told by Cyndi Lauper, isn’t a pop act but rather a performance artist with an incredible pop sensibility.

Meanwhile, Shepard Fairey, the creator of the 2008 Obama Hope poster, lauds Banksy’s particular gift: “An ability to make almost anyone very uncomfortable”.

Included in the Leaders section is Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom US filmmaker Michael Moore praises for wanting for Brazil “what we used to call the American Dream”.

Also featured as leaders are former Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn Japanese Prime Minister Yuko Hatoyama, and US President Barack Obama.

The Heroes section ranges from former US President Bill Clinton and Iranian 2009 Presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi to Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and Hollywood actor Ben Stiller.

Meanwhile, Apple’s Steve Jobs, former chairman of the US Federal Reserve turned financial reformer Paul Volcker, Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk and US Supreme Court judge Sonya Sotomayor all make the Thinkers section.