Grace Tame has nabbed the limelight at the 2025 n of the Year morning tea with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, three years on from her infamous ‘side-eye’ meeting with Scott Morrison.
The 2021 n of the Year wore a T-shirt emblazoned with ‘F*** Murdoch’ on the front as she was greeted by a poker-faced Mr Albanese and his fiancée, Jodie Haydon, at The Lodge in Canberra on Saturday.
The 30-year-old, who just this week stepped down from her foundation and announced she had been appointed a brand ambassador for Nike, has long taken issue with how her story has been portrayed in the media, particularly News Corp.
In 2022, the outspoken advocate for survivors of sexual assault stirred controversy when she attended the same event as the outgoing n of the Year.
When Ms Tame and her then-partner Max Heerey arrived, they were greeted by then-PM Morrison and his wife Jenny, who congratulated them on their recent engagement.
But Ms Tame remained stony faced as they posed for pictures, which captured her giving Mr Morrison an ice-cold ‘side-eye’ expression that quickly sparked a flood of memes.
She later addressed the snub on Twitter, commenting that the survival of abuse culture ‘is dependent on submissive smiles, self-defeating surrenders and hypocrisy’.
‘What I did wasn’t an act of martyrdom in the gender culture war,’ she wrote.
‘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…To conform to the status quo, it’s all of us.’
Ms Tame had been highly critical of Mr Morrison and his government’s response to allegations of sexual assault and toxic workplace culture in federal parliament.
Her meeting with Mr Albanese on Saturday appeared to be in stark contrast, smiling warmly and laughing as she mingled with the PM, other guests and nominees for this year’s awards.
Ms Tame has been vocal about her perceived unsympathetic treatment by the media.
She described 2021 as ‘re-traumatising’ and penned a scathing article about the Murdoch press in newsletter Crikey.
Former prime minister and fellow Murdoch combatant Kevin Rudd even once piped up on News Corp’s treatment of Ms Tame, supporting the activist on Twitter after the Courier Mail published an article questioning her criticism of Scott Morrison.
‘There goes Murdoch, trying to bully Grace Tame like they have so many voices for progress over the years,’ he wrote.
‘They whine about ‘cancel culture’ but they will try to cancel anyone who doesn’t share their reactionary worldview. We need more diversity, not less.’
The winners of the 2025 n of the Year Awards will be announced at a ceremony in Canberra on Saturday.
More than 30 finalists are in the running to be named n of the Year, Senior n of the Year, Young n of the Year and ‘s Local Hero.
Grant Ngulmiya Nundhirribala – NT
Grant Ngulmiya Nundhirribala, a musician and cultural leader, is the Northern Territory’s nominee for n of the Year.
The Indigenous leader has collaborated with the Budapest Art Orchestra and with artists in Japan and North India.
Professor Leah Bromfield – SA
Professor Leah Bromfield, the director and chair of the n Centre for Child Protection, is South ‘s nominee for n of the Year.
Professor Bromfield has developed a national framework for finding evidence-based solutions to child abuse and neglect.
Megan Gilmour – ACT
Megan Gilmour, a MissingSchool co-founder, is the ACT’s nominee for n of the Year.
After her son suffered a serious injury and was unable to attend school, Ms Gilmour co-authored the first national report into school isolation and developed the world’s first telepresence robot service.
Sam Elsom – Tasmania
Sam Elsom, the founder of Sea Forest, is Tasmania’s nominee for n of the Year and developed the first start-up to turn asparagopsis, a natural seaweed, into a livestock feed supplement to reduce methane emissions.
Dianne and Ian Haggerty – WA
Dianne and Ian Haggerty, the founders of Natural Intelligence Farming, are Western ‘s nominee for n of the Year.
The couple are credited with pioneering modern farming practises through their focus supporting diverse microbiomes in soil, plant and animals.
Kath Koschel – NSW
Kath Koschel, the founder of the Kindness Factory, is NSW’s nominee for n of the Year.
Ms Koschel, who was a former professional cricketer and ironwoman competitor, teaches children how to be kind after she was told she would never walk again after breaking her back.
Geoffrey Smith – QLD
Geoffrey Smith, a data analyst, is NSW’s nominee for n of the Year.
Mr Smith recognised the untapped potential of neurodivergent people to contribute to the workforce and co-founded n Spatial Analytics.
Geoffrey is a Social Impact Leadership recipient, and through ASA, aims to employ 1,000 people by 2030.