The Project speak out about explosive on-air confrontation

There were tense scenes on Tuesday’s episode of The Project, after sexual assault survivor Grace Tame made headlines for her icy demeanour during a public meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Van Onselen then penned a column in The Australian criticising the 2021 Australian of the Year for her behaviour, labelling her “ungracious, rude and childish”.

Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash, Australia’s biggest news streaming service. New to Flash? Try 14 days free now >

Appearing on the show to discuss her new book On Reckoning, which looks at the political response to the issue of sexual assault, Remeikis called out van Onselen for his comments.

“Your column today (was) devastating to so many people. Women constantly have to come out, talk about their trauma, get to the point where I am almost crying on national television, to talk about this,” she told him.

Bickmore supported her guest, turning to van Onselen and asking him what he thought his column had positively contributed to the discourse around sexual assault survivors.

Remeikis joined Bickmore on-air on Thursday night for Hit Network’s Carrie & Tommy show, where they reflected on the headline-making TV segment.

“Amy, being involved in something like that can often come at a bit of a toll; are you feeling OK now?” Bickmore asked.

“I’m feeling OK. I was a bit shaken afterwards – I’m no good at confrontation, despite what my friends and family might think,” said Remeikis.

The journalist revealed she “hadn’t actually been able to watch any of it back” because she was “overwhelmed with emotion even thinking about it”.

She also thanked Bickmore for her “bravery” in confronting van Onselen on-air.

“I was really overwhelmed at the response – and I wanted to say thank you for everything that you did. I was in my home yelling through a computer but you were sitting next to him, and he is your colleague, so thank you for your bravery and your courage in speaking up like that,” she said.

Fellow Project panellist Tommy Little, who did not appear on Tuesday’s episode, said he watched the segment and wondered: “Is this exactly what the bigger problem is all the time? There’s real issues at play here, and then you’ve got guys chiming in and diverting attention away to stupid things?”

Remeikis said she thought it was an “easier” option to police people’s manners rather than having uncomfortable discussions about sexual assault.

“It’s a lot easier to say, ‘You can have a seat at the table to talk about this very serious issue, but only if you behave yourself.’ But this isn’t an issue you can use civility for – one in three women are going to be impacted by this. I think it’s about time we stopped having all the silly side discussions and actually got to the root of the issue: men stepping up and doing something in this space instead of leaving it to the women to carry,” she said.

Fellow Project star Lisa Wilkinson, who also did not appear on Tuesday’s show, made her opposition to van Onselen’s stance clear in an Instagram post praising Tame’s efforts as a campaigner for sexual assault survivors.

“Grace, the imprint you leave as Australian Of The Year will be felt for generations to come,” she wrote.

“Most importantly Grace, thank you for making noise … just like you promised you would.”

Originally published as The Project stars speak out about on-air confrontation