ABC faces criticism after Charlie Pickering questions Grace Tame podcast appointment
Commentators have slammed the ABC after one of its own stars drew issue with Grace Tame’s new appointment as a podcast host.
Conservative media commentators and politicians have come out swinging in light of the ABC’s decision to commission a podcast about women with autism hosted by former Australian of the year Grace Tame.
The firestorm came after ABC star Charlie Pickering told right-wing media figure Avi Yemini that he felt Ms Tame’s appointment was “problematic”.
Opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said on Tuesday the decision was “untenable” in a lengthy media release that criticised Ms Tame’s pro-Palestinian activism.
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“The ABC’s shock decision to employ Grace Tame as a podcast host, who described corroborated reports of Hamas’ sexual violence against Israeli women as ‘propaganda’ which had been ‘debunked’ and led a pro-Palestine rally chanting ‘globalise the intifada’ is untenable,” Senator Henderson said.
“At a time when anti-Semitism is at record levels in Australia, the national broadcaster should be exercising the highest standards of judgment, not rewarding individuals who have undermined social cohesion and spread false information about one of the worst terrorist atrocities in modern history.
“This decision is deeply offensive to Jewish Australians and does nothing to negate the perception that the ABC provides a safe haven for anti-Israel activists.”
2GB radio host Clinton Maynard said Ms Tame had developed a “woe is me” attitude before suggesting one of the “greatest regrets of the Morrison government” was her appointment as Australian of the Year.
In 2021, Ms Tame was given the honour for her “extraordinary courage” pushing for law reform and public awareness about the impacts of sexual violence against women and girls.
The Australia Institute chief political analyst Amy Remeikis said attacks on Ms Tame in the wake of Pickering’s comments had been “unhinged” in a BlueSky post.
“The attacks against Grace Tame are disingenuous and unhinged. Deliberately lacking context to cause fear and harm. Enough,” she said.
The podcast announcement, first made on Monday, went largely unnoticed until Pickering, one of the ABC’s most well-known entertainers, was bounced at an anti-ABC protest by Yemini in front of the Parramatta bureau.
Yemini, who was last month barred from entering the UK, asked Pickering whether he felt Tame’s appointment was appropriate.
“I do actually think it’s problematic, that’s my personal opinion,” Pickering said.
“As a Jewish Australian, there is a complete misunderstanding of a lot of the words that were said and what the true meaning of them are. A lot of people are using words and phrases that have meaning well beyond what they think they do.”
Ms Tame is yet to speak on the criticism publicly.
Originally published as Conservative commentators unload on ABC after Grace Tame move
