--- description: Find out why Megan Thee Stallion is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. title: Megan Thee Stallion: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f9df06351a31f66/698a1272457a5237d8d646ec/time-100-megan-thee-stallion-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 23, 2020 # Megan Thee Stallion by Taraji P. Henson  Dana Scruggs for TIME I remember hearing [Megan Thee Stallion](https://time.com/collection/time-100-next-2019/5718790/megan-thee-stallion/ "undefined") on one of those famous DJ radio shows a few years ago. She rode the beat like I’d never heard anybody ride the beat in a long time—and I’m a hip-hop head. There was something about this woman. Once you discover her, you become a fan. I don’t like to put the stigma of the word _strong_ on Black women because I think it dehumanizes us, but she has strength—strength through vulnerability. She’s lost much of her family—her mother, her father, her grandmother—yet she is the epitome of tenacity, of pulling herself up by her bootstraps. She was [shot this summer](https://time.com/5867405/megan-thee-stallion-accuses-tory-lanez-shooting/ "undefined"), and still people tried to tear her down. But she’s out here still loving and being sweet. It’s invigorating to see her become a platinum-selling artist with the viral hit “[Hot Girl Summer](https://time.com/5632924/hot-girl-summer-meme-explained/ "undefined")” and [multiple No. 1 songs in the past year](https://time.com/5844614/best-songs-2020-so-far/ "undefined"), “Savage” and [“WAP.”](https://time.com/5882152/song-of-the-summer-2020/ "undefined") But you would be a fool to think that’s all there is to her. She’s deep. She’s enrolled in college. She’s an entertainer. She’s a free spirit; I see that in her. The industry might try to pigeonhole her in this rap game, but she’s got a plan that’s much bigger. And we got her. I just want her to keep winning. _Henson is an Academy Award–nominated actor_ [_Buy a print of the Megan Thee Stallion cover._](https://timecoverstore.com/featured/time-100-megan-thee-stallion-photograph-by-dana-scruggs-for-time.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888165/megan-thee-stallion-pioneer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888165/megan-thee-stallion-pioneer/"},"headline":"Megan Thee Stallion","datePublished":"2020-09-23T01:28:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:21:57.670Z","description":"Find out why the \"Savage\" singer is one of the most influential people of 2020, according to Taraji P. Henson.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888165/megan-thee-stallion-pioneer/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Pioneers"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f9df06351a31f66/698a1272457a5237d8d646ec/time-100-megan-thee-stallion-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f9df06351a31f66/698a1272457a5237d8d646ec/time-100-megan-thee-stallion-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888165/megan-thee-stallion-pioneer/","name":"Megan Thee Stallion"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 | Megan Thee Stallion","description":"Megan Thee Stallion is on the 2020 TIME100 list","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mSiPOSjx/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2020-09-23T01:36:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mSiPOSjx.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888165/megan-thee-stallion-pioneer/","duration":"PT1M11S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888165/megan-thee-stallion-pioneer/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```