Major backlash has followed Grace Tame's latest job advocating for neurodivergent issues with the ABC. The human rights activist and former Australian of the Year is bringing a four-episode podcast offering to the national broadcaster, and even the outlet's own Charlie Pickering has called the appointment 'problematic'.
Tame's show, 'Autistic AF', will run as a takeover on the popular show 'Ladies, We Need to Talk'. But mounting criticism is not aimed at discussions about autism, but rather at Tame herself, following comments made both at a pro-Palestine protest and during a radio interview discussing the same rally.
The ABC has backed its decision despite the rising backlash. Its support follows a court finding in September that the ABC's unfair sacking of journalist Antoinette Latouff over a social media post was carried out to appease pro-Israel lobbyists. It was about this time, in late 2025, that the ABC began working with Tame on the podcast series.
'Grace Tame is a high-profile public figure and former Australian of the Year who has spoken openly about her experience as an autistic woman and has advocated on neurodivergent issues,' an ABC spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au on Wednesday. 'The purpose of this series is to explore the diversity of lived experience among women and gender diverse people with autism in Australia and includes a range of contributors.'
Tame's Claims Land Her in Hot Water
Since the ABC began working with Tame on the podcast, she led a 5000-strong crowd in chanting 'from Gadigal to Gaza, globalise the intifada' at a Sydney protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The Arabic term intifada, translating to 'shaking off', has historically been used to refer to two violent periods during which Palestinians fought against their occupation in a series of deadly attacks on Israel.
While the word intifada has since become a symbol of Palestinian nationalism and anti-Zionist resistance, for many Jewish people it has become synonymous with targeted violence against them, along with the phrase 'from the river to the sea', which Tame also used at the February rally. Fears for Jewish safety and a rise in antisemitism following the ISIS-linked Bondi Beach terrorist attack led to a banning of the two phrases in Queensland, and condemnation of the phrasing more widely.
When Tame was brought on to ABC Radio Sydney's Mornings program to defend her rally cries, a listener on the text line asked the child sexual abuse survivor about her 'selective outrage' regarding her silence over Hamas rapes on October 7. Tame called the reports of sexual violence against Israeli women during the massacre 'propaganda' which had been 'debunked'.
The Ombudsman said following an investigation into Tame's on-air comments that while 'the Ombudsman appreciates that some members of the audience consider this reference antisemitic, the Ombudsman does not consider the way in which it was presented condoned or encouraged prejudice. Claims were appropriately challenged and in keeping with the editorial standards for a live radio program.' An ABC spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au on Wednesday: 'The ABC rejects the views made by Grace Tame about 7 October.'
ABC Host Pickering Brands Tame's Appointment 'Problematic'
Many people outraged with Tame's comments and appointment rallied outside the ABC on Tuesday. Media personality and ABC radio broadcaster Charlie Pickering had stepped out of the office to learn more about the rally, for his Drive program, and was asked about his stance on the Tame appointment by right-wing commentator Avi Yemini.
'I do actually think it's problematic. That's my personal opinion,' Pickering said. 'I think, as you would understand, and as a Jewish Australian, there is a complete misunderstanding of a lot of the words that are said and what the true meaning of them are, and a lot of people are using words and phrases that have meaning well beyond what they think they do.' When asked whether he thought Tame was 'ignorant' to the deeper meaning of the rally cries, Pickering said: 'I wouldn't say that'.
Australian Jewish Association CEO Robert Gregory said the ABC should be called to the antisemitism inquiry over Tame's hire, which he said 'demonstrates a profound lack of judgment and a disregard for the concerns of many Australians, particularly within the Jewish community'. 'It reinforces the growing perception that ABC management is increasingly out of touch with the communities it is supposed to serve. ABC would have been aware of the distress this decision would cause to many Australians, and it therefore seems designed to generate controversy.'
Shadow minister for communications Sarah Henderson also demanded ABC managing director and editor-in-chief Hugh Marks to 'disclose what, if any, restrictions have been placed on Ms Tame to ensure she refrains from using this podcast as a platform for anti-Israel activism or does not otherwise engage in conduct which brings the ABC into disrepute'. One protester rallying against the Tame hire told Yemini he was 'sick of the bias' at the ABC.
'There Has to Be a Rational Connection'
But media ethics expert Dr Denis Muller, when asked about the media backlash against Tame's ABC appointment, told 7NEWS.com.au: 'I don't think that this criticism is justified.' He said the criticism against Tame has been overwhelmingly platformed by outlets 'with a long history of campaigning against the ABC'. 'So there are layers of agendas here. You have to be careful that you don't jump into a pile-on.'
Pickering was also asked at the rally whether he believes ABC is a left-leaning institution. 'I don't think that's true. I know that because I've worked here for almost 13 years now. It is nigh on impossible to use this (outlet) as a platform for your own political opinions,' Pickering said. Muller said he does not believe it is supportable to silence Tame on matters related to autism based on her views regarding the Middle East. 'Fundamentally, there has to be a rational connection between the subject matter that you're trying to silence her on and the subject matter which you object to,' Muller said.
7NEWS.com.au has contacted Grace Tame and Charlie Pickering for further comment.
