Grace Tame mocks ScoMo in first gig at Melbourne Comedy Festival
Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame took aim at Scott Morrison during a stand-up comedy routine in Melbourne on Sunday.
Grace Tame has made her debut in comedy.
While Prime Minister Scott Morrison officially kicked off his election campaign on Sunday, the 2021 Australian of the Year appeared at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as part of a show where the Liberals were certainly the target of the jokes.
The tone of the night was set before the show even started.
As comedian and DJ Andrew McClelland warmed up the crowd, he quipped “by the way, we can vote the government out on May 21st” and was met with loud applause and cheers.
The show featured a panel of comedians who addressed serious topics in a hilarious way, including climate change, housing affordability, misinformation and social media, Australia Day and gender equality.
Tame received the loudest applause as she was introduced on stage in front of hundreds at Forum Melbourne, with comedian and podcaster Dan Ilic pointing out she was the master of the side-eye (the look she famously gave Morrison in a photo at The Lodge).
After Ilic, Gabbi Bolt, Alice Fraser and Dane Simpson gave their monologues, it was Tame’s turn to take to the mic.
Tame joked that she wasn’t going to get political and apologised to those that had come to see her roast Mr Morrison, who was a “giant self-saucing comedy pudding” and a “joke dessert that ices itself”.
She added that he just “grabs the ukulele all by himself” – referring to his musical performance in a recent 60 Minutes interview that was roasted online.
Tame went on to tell stories about characters from what she said was her favourite childhood television show My Little Pony but was clearly about Mr Morrison and his government.
It was especially clear when one of the characters “sharted in Old MacDonald’s farm”, which of course was a subtle (or not so subtle dig) at the longstanding rumour Mr Morrison soiled himself at Engadine McDonald’s after his beloved Cronulla Sharks lost the grand final in 1997.
Mr Morrison last year went on radio to “clear up” the rumour declaring it was the “biggest urban myth ever”.
NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham was next in the firing line, who Tame said was “my favourite comedian”.
Tame mocked Mr Latham through a series of jokes told about an air fryer – which involves a “basket case inside a pressure cooker” that has “no filter”.
In a joke about someone claiming Tasmania (where Tame is from) wasn’t a real place, Tame said it was OK because she lived rent free in Latham’s head, along with domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty (who he is known for publicly attacking), the 2004 federal election results (when he lost as Labor leader) and pretty much anyone who wasn’t a white man.
Tame returned to her seat after her monologue with the crowd roaring.
“Keep making noise,” she yelled.
But Tame’s jokes weren’t over yet.
Former ABC journalist and independent candidate for Goldstein Zoe Daniel appeared as a special guest.
Pictures and social media posts from her opponent, Liberal MP Tim Wilson, were shown on a large screen, as the comedians mocked what they said was a sudden attempt for him to appear as a climate change advocate.
One picture included Wilson holding a brick with a sombre expression.
He had captioned the photo: “When you hold the future of the world’s carbon neutral energy storage in your mitts”.
Tame offered an alternative, saying the picture showed he was nervous about the upcoming federal election and “this was the brick I just s---”.
When you hold the future of the world’s carbon neutral energy storage in your mitts … the visit to MGA Thermal in Newcastle was mind blowing … pic.twitter.com/tY5xFw468A
— Tim Wilson MP (@TimWilsonMP) March 24, 2022
Ahead of the gig on Sunday, Tame took to Twitter to explain that she was hesitant on whether doing the show was the right move and clarified comedy was not a “career move” as advocacy was always her first priority.
To be clear, this isn’t a “career moveâ€.
— Grace Tame (@TamePunk) April 9, 2022
Advocacy is my first priority, always. It’s my life and purpose. I ummed and aahed over whether or not this was the right thing to do.
Would it send a hopeful, empowering message to survivors? Or would it trivialise the cause? pic.twitter.com/UDGm7iE0UG
“There are risks in doing this, as there are with just about anything else in this mad life,” she wrote as part of a thread.
“Things have been especially tough lately. But I reckon we could use a laugh. Either way, the joke’s on me. And if I fail, I’ll pick myself up and move on. You never know, unless you try.”
Tame had began her monologue at the show thanking her fiance Max Heerey, explaining that she had been practising all her jokes on him, constantly asking “is this funny?”.
The show, which also included Lewis Hobba and Vidya Rajan, was recorded for a podcast episode of A Rational Fear.
‘Bad tax’: Big call on stamp duty
The federal housing minister is signalling a major change that could affect millions of property owners.
Big business weighs in on housing crisis
A powerful business lobby is calling for major reforms to fix the country’s housing crisis.
Dutton accused of housing plan copycat
Peter Dutton is facing allegations of being a copycat after unveiling a multi-billion dollar housing plan.