| 100% | BADARTFRIEND | 12 | “Who Is the ___?” (viral Times Magazine article about a literary feud, whose theme of fictionalizing others’ lives without permission is also explored in Andrew Lipstein’s 2022 novel “Last Resort”) |
| 27% | BONO | 4 | Irishman who was a Time magazine Person of the Year in 2005 |
| 24% | ANGELAMERKEL | 12 | German chancellor who was Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2015 (2 wds.) |
| 24% | JAMESWOODS | 10 | "Once Upon a Time in America" actor who was the voice of villainous Hades in Disney's "Hercules": 2 wds. |
| 24% | GRETATHUNBERG | 13 | Swedish environmental activist who was Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2019 (2 wds.) |
| 24% | MRSDALLOWAY | 11 | Virginia Woolf's novel about a day in the life of a woman in England post World War I: 2 wds. |
| 24% | IBELIEVEICANFLY | 15 | R. Kelly hit whose last title word is aptly rhymed with "sky" in the lyrics ... and a hint to the starts of the other four longest puzzle answers |
| 24% | THEGUARDIANS | 12 | Persecuted and endangered journalists who were Time Magazine's Persons of the Year in 2018 (2 wds.) |
| 24% | AARON | 5 | With 30-Across, New York Yankees slugger who was Time's Athlete of the Year in 2022 |
| 24% | RBG | 3 | Initials of the person who said "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you" |
| 24% | JUSTICEGINSBURG | 15 | Subject of this puzzle, who once said "Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you" |
| 23% | RYU | 3 | Main character in Capcom's Street Fighter series whose "special move" was the subject of a scientific work last year |
| 23% | ILSA | 4 | Character who says “Kiss me as if it were the last time” to Rick, in a 1942 film |
| 23% | BACH | 4 | Who was voted the "Greatest Composer of All Time," in a 2019 BBC poll |
| 23% | EMU | 3 | Bird whose name is also the initials of a school in Ypsilanti |
| 23% | OLIVERREED | 10 | Actor whose first name is the title of a Best Picture he co-starred in, and whose last name is that film's director |
| 23% | BONO | 4 | Musician who was one of Time magazine's 2005 People of the Year |
| 23% | MELINDAGATES | 12 | Philanthropist who was a Time Person of the Year co-honoree in 2005 |
| 23% | LIZZO | 5 | Singer/songwriter/flutist who had eight Grammy nominations in 2020 and who was named Time Magazine's 2019 Entertainer of the Year |
| 23% | HARRY | 5 | ___ S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States who was also a skilled piano player |
| 23% | COLINFARRELL | 12 | Best Actor Oscar nominee for his portrayal of a man who is suddenly cut out of the life of his best friend in the 2022 film "The Banshees of Inisherin" (2 wds.) |
| 22% | BYATT | 5 | A S —, author of the novels Still Life and The Virgin in the Garden |
| 22% | AMAL | 4 | Clooney who was one of Time’s 2022 Women of the Year |
| 22% | ERMA | 4 | Bombeck who wrote If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? |
| 22% | ONEMORE | 7 | "___ Time," 2023 movie about a person stuck in the same day ... which is also a hint for 18a, 30a, 35a, 4d, and 39d: 2 wds. |
| 22% | ODYSSEUS | 8 | A legendary Greek featured in Homer's epic poem, who was the King of Ithaca |
| 22% | HEMINGWAY | 9 | American writer Ernest, who won the Nobel in 1954 and whose debut novel was "The Sun Also Rises" |
| 22% | GALADRIEL | 9 | Royal elf also known as the Lady of Lorien who will appear in the 2022 TV series adaptation |
| 22% | THEBRIGHTSWORD | 14 | Lev Grossman novel about a knight who arrives in Camelot after the death of King Arthur (3 wds.) |
| 22% | DYLAN | 5 | About whom Obama said "There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music" |