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Each December, TIME magazine announces its pick for Person of the Year. Last week, TIME broke 99 years of tradition and announced — 9 months early — that it had already made its selection for Person of the Year for 2026. According to Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, this was an easy decision.

Choosing the Person of the Year is consistently one of the most arduous tasks we have at TIME,” said Jacobs. “We spend thousands of hours around the table together, suggesting, rejecting and debating different options. Not this year! The second we saw this person — or, rather, primate — we knew we were looking at our winner.”

Meet Punch: a 7-month old Japanese macaque currently residing in the Ichikawa City Zoo, and the 2026 TIME Person of the Year.

When Punch’s mother rejected him at birth, the zookeepers gave him a surrogate mother in the form of a stuffed orangutan. Video footage of Punch seeking comfort from his stuffed animal after getting physically attacked by the other monkeys has since gone viral, skyrocketing the young monkey to fame.

The Person of the Year is awarded to “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year, for better or for worse.” This could be anyone from a businessperson to a peacemaker to a political leader — in fact, every U.S. president since the award’s inception in 1927 has been recognized, except for Gerald Ford. Sorry, Gerry! Perhaps you shouldn’t have given Nixon that presidential pardon.

Despite the name, the Person of the Year is not always a person. In 1982, it was “the Computer,” and, in 1988, “Planet Earth” got the nod. Thus, those outraged at Punch’s candidacy have little grounds for objection. After all, despite what the 2025 Person of the Year “Architects of AI” would have you believe, we humans have much more in common (99% of our DNA) with Punch than we do with computers.

Scholastic sat down with Punch for an exclusive tell-all interview, and we have the answers to all of your questions about this superstar snow monkey who has captured the world’s heart.

INTERVIEWER: Punch, congratulations again. I can’t think of anyone more deserving to represent 2026. I have to ask — your rise to fame has been so rapid. How are you adjusting to your newfound celebrity status?

PUNCH: Thanks so much. It’s definitely been an adjustment, but I’m just so appreciative of all the love that’s been poured out to me. It’s certainly been a comfort. The attention can get a little overwhelming — I’m constantly being watched and filmed and yelled at. But I’ve been getting a lot of support and advice from other monkeys who’ve gone through this before.

INTERVIEWER: Is there any monkey that comes to mind who’s been particularly supportive?

PUNCH: Oh, God. So many have reached out. I mean, George — he’s great. A real class act. A little nosy, sure, always wants to know what’s going on, but one of the best in the business, and he’s been around forever. I got a DM from Donkey Kong, that was crazy. Oh, and Abu tried to start Twitter beef on Aladdin’s account, but I didn’t engage. Who else … Rafiki had lots to say, I’m sure that won’t surprise anyone. It’s been good.

INTERVIEWER: That’s great to hear. I know things haven’t always been easy for you, and I’m sure our readers will be relieved to know you’re feeling less alone these days.

PUNCH: Yeah, for sure. You know what, I can’t believe I forgot to mention the one monkey who’s been there through it all: my stuffed orangutan. IKEA may call him Djungelskog, but I call him Mom. He’s always lifted me up, even when I was being physically pummelled down to the ground. Huge shoutout to my boy!

INTERVIEWER: Absolutely. Punch, Cambridge Dictionary defines “monkey business” as “behavior that is unacceptable or deceitful.” It also defines “monkeying around” as “behaving in silly and annoying ways.” How does that make you feel?

PUNCH: Honestly, inaccurate as it is, it doesn’t bother me. It’s just cheap wordplay. Any human-centric argument that monkeys are innately deceitful or silly is preposterous. I’ve known tons of serious monkeys. We’ve got monkeys with typewriters writing Shakespeare, for Christ’s sake.

INTERVIEWER: That’s a great point, I hadn’t considered that. I’d like to ask you, Punch, what does this award mean to you?

PUNCH: That’s a great question. Thank you for asking it. This award, for me, is a chance to represent the monkey community well. I’d love for monkeys to see me and say, I could do that. I know I have a platform. Everyone’s talking about 2016 right now. Well, for the first time since 2016, the internet is flooded with videos of a monkey in his enclosure. That fact is not lost on me. Sorry, I’m getting emotional. I just want to set a good example.

INTERVIEWER: Could you share, if you’re willing, a little bit about where that emotion is coming from?

PUNCH: I mean, not a day goes by that I don’t think of him, you know? The whole world had its eyes on him. And now they’re on me. I just want this time around to be joyful, to be celebratory. The world needs that right now. And it’s what he, what Harambe, would’ve wanted.

INTERVIEWER: So well put.