Grace Tame has issued a statement that is being characterized as a non-apology for her previous comments dismissing October 7 rape allegations as "propaganda." Commentator Peter van Onselen argues that the statement, released six months after her initial remarks, is "insulting tripe" and fails to offer a genuine apology.
In March, Tame stated on ABC Radio that she would not "sink to the level of entertaining any kind of propaganda" when asked why she had not spoken out in support of Israeli women following the October 7 attacks. When confronted with a United Nations finding that there were reasonable grounds to believe rape and gang rape had occurred, Tame reportedly doubled down, insisting the claims had been "debunked."
Van Onselen contends that Tame's recent statement shifts the focus, claiming her comments were "misinterpreted" and subject to "mischaracterization." He points to a Human Rights Watch report, which Tame cited, stating that the organization's inability to verify rapes through its own interviews does not disprove the allegations. The same report, van Onselen notes, also cited the UN finding of reasonable grounds to believe rape and gang rape occurred.
Tame's statement reportedly acknowledges individual accounts but frames her apology around "any harm their mischaracterization has caused," a phrasing van Onselen criticizes for using passive voice to avoid admitting fault for calling the allegations "propaganda."
The timing of Tame's statement coincides with renewed national discussion around sexual violence allegations in Australia, including those involving the Sydney Swans and students from Scots College and St Gregory's. Van Onselen suggests Tame's perceived silence on the October 7 allegations has alienated her from these conversations, and her video is a bid to regain relevance.
Van Onselen draws a parallel to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's past apology after calling Tame "difficult," an apology Tame herself criticized as hiding behind "misinterpretation." He argues that Tame's current defense mirrors the same tactic she condemned.
The decision to release a solemn video without an interviewer is also criticized as "phony." Van Onselen asserts that a true apology would have been a simple, direct admission: "I was wrong to dismiss credible rape allegations as propaganda, and I am sorry." He concludes that until Tame "honestly owns what she did, she has no business lecturing anyone else about anything."