Grace Tame breaks silence on tense photo with Scott Morrison

Grace Tame has spoken out about her tense interaction with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, which kicked off a nationwide debate.

Grace Tame has broken her silence over her tense interaction with Prime Minister Scott Morrison declaring “the survival of abuse culture is dependent on submissive smiles and self-defeating surrenders.”

But the former Australian of the Year said what she did “wasn’t an act of martyrdom in the gender wars”.

In her first direct comments about the now viral images, Ms Tame has outlined her own views on the matter after thousands of Australians weighed in on what the moment really meant.

“The survival of abuse culture is dependent on submissive smiles and self-defeating surrenders. It is dependent on hypocrisy,’’ she said.

“My past is only relevant to the extent that I have seen — in fact I have worn — the consequences of civility for the sake of civility.

“What I did wasn’t an act of martyrdom in the gender culture war. It’s true that many women are sick of being told to smile, often by men, for the benefit of men.

“But it’s not just women who are conditioned to smile and conform to the visibly rotting status-quo. It’s all of us.”

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash for $8/month and no lock in contracts. New to Flash? Try 14 days free now>

Prime Minister Scott Morrison with Grace Tame, who appeared to be uncomfortable with the meeting. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

The interaction sparked a nationwide debate. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Ms Tame has been accused of being “rude” and “childish” for not smiling at the Prime Minister by some, and labelled a feminist hero by supporters.

But until now she has not explained what happened in her own words.

Asked about the incident on Friday, Mr Morrison said Ms Tame had “a terrible life … ordeal” but that he would always greet guests with a smile.

During an interview on 4BC, Mr Morrison was asked: “Did yourself and your wife Jenny feel disrespected?”

He did not deny he felt disrespected but noted he had greeted Ms Tame with civility.

“I’ve seen all of that. Anyone comes to our home, when we invite somebody, we greet them with a smile, and they’re always welcome,’’ Mr Morrison said.

Unprompted, the Prime Minister then noted that the focus of the day was supposed to be about this year’s finalists, not Ms Tame.

“And that day, that day was actually about all the finalists coming to celebrate,’’ he said.

“And the previous Australians of the Year were there. Jenny and I were there and that day was all about them.

“All I’m saying is we were there that day to celebrate those who’ve done an incredible job for our country. And Jenny and I wanted to welcome them into our home and wish them all the best.

Grace Tame pictured with Labor Leader Anthony Albanese at the 2022 Australian of the Year awards. Picture: Anthony Albanese/Facebook

Mr Morrison then suggested Ms Tame had experienced great difficulties.

“Look, Grace is a passionate person who’s raised important issues,” he said.

“She’s had a terrible life … ordeal … a terrible life … um you know things happened to her ordeals, the abuse. It’s just awful.

“And I know a lot of Australians, myself included, you know, support her efforts to ensure that these issues can be raised and addressed.

“Our government has done more than any other government on this issue, and that is in part

because of the strong focus that has been brought to these issues and the response that we’ve made.

“So I thank her for her time as Australian of the Year and as I say, when you know, if people come to our house, Jenny and I always greet them with a smile.”

Ms Tame was named the 2021 Australian of the Year after overturning a Tasmanian law that prevented her from speaking about her experiences of sexual assault when she was just 15.

She met with the Prime Minister before a morning tea for the 2022 Australian of the Year finalists.

The 27-year-old was seen looking unimpressed as Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny stood for photos with other people as she waited to enter the event

“Hello Grace,” the Prime Minister was then heard saying.

“G’day,” she responded.

“How are you going? Congratulations on the engagement,” Mr Morrison continued.

“Thank you,” Ms Tame said, not making eye contact with the Prime Minister.

She then smiled at Jenny who said something that couldn’t be heard.

Ms Tame then appeared visibly unimpressed while standing for photos next to the Prime Minister.

She didn’t say anything once the photos were taken before walking off.

Ms Tame had earlier tweeted an image about her two days in Canberra: “On second thoughts let’s not go to Canberra. It’s a silly place,” it said.