Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has addressed recent remarks in which he described Grace Tame, the 2021 Australian of the Year, as “difficult.” The comment sparked widespread attention and prompted Albanese to clarify his intentions.

On Thursday, Albanese offered a nuanced apology, expressing regret if his words had been misinterpreted. He explained that his comment was intended to reference the challenging life Tame has endured as a survivor of child sexual abuse.

Grace Tame responded to Albanese’s clarification by drawing a parallel to former Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Tame and Morrison were infamously involved in a tense encounter at The Lodge in 2022.

In a social media post shared by the independent media outlet Ette, Tame remarked, “Dude’s quoting Scott now!!! ‘She’s had a difficult life’… Spare me the condescension, old man.” She continued, “We all know what you meant. A badge of honor anyway. A confession that I’ve ruffled him.”

The prime minister’s “difficult” description of Tame came during a rapid-fire session at the Future Victoria conference in Melbourne, where he was asked to provide one-word descriptions of various public figures.

Albanese labelled Tame “difficult” during a rapid-fire game, where he was asked to give one-word responses to a list of well-known figures at the Future Victoria conference in Melbourne on Wednesday.

During the conference, he also called One Nation leader Pauline Hanson “divisive”, Donald Trump “president”, and former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor a “grub”.

His initial comments sparked criticism from public figures and politicians, including Tame herself, who referenced the “difficult” labelling in a social media post on Instagram on Thursday morning.

“‘Difficult’ is the misogynist’s code for a woman who won’t comply,” a post that she shared reads.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young wrote on social media: “Some of my best friends are ‘difficult’ women … (Ok, all of them, and I love them for it!)”.

Greens leader Larissa Waters commented, “labelling women as difficult won’t silence us”.

On Thursday, Albanese said Tame had turned her “difficult experience” into “being a strong advocate for others”.

He went on to describe Tame as a “strong and powerful advocate”, but he opposed her recent chanting of “globalise the intifada” at a pro-Palestinian rally.

“That’s why it’s impossible to describe people in one word.”

The word ‘intifada’ and phrase ‘globalise the intifada’ have contested meanings.

Intifada is an Arabic word that refers to uprising or shaking off, and is used to refer to two periods of Palestinian resistance, including one marked by significant violence, including suicide bombings, against Israeli civilians.

However, both periods of unrest ultimately resulted in the deaths of far more Palestinians than Israelis.

Some pro-Palestinian activists say they use the phrase to call for international solidarity and protest. Many Jewish groups say it encourages violence against Jews.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has said he will introduce legislation seeking to introduce penalties for chanting the phrase.

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