The rift between Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame could not have been clearer at a crowded International Women’s Day celebration.
The pair were among dozens of women invited to a lunch hosted by Marie Claire at the waterfront restaurant End of the Wharf in Sydney‘s CBD on Friday.
The ‘Balance the Scales’ event aimed to ‘confront the structural inequalities shaping women’s lives’ with attendees promised meaningful conversations about building a fairer, safer and more inclusive justice system.
Some might argue it was the perfect moment for two activists who built their platforms on such issues to exchange insights – not only with the media, but with each other.
Unfortunately, both Tame and Higgins refused to speak to media on the red carpet, with Higgins skipping the photo opportunity altogether.
Tame went so far as to use friends such as Antoinette Lattouf, Channel 10’s Narelda Jacobs and her wife Karina Natt – all of whom leapt to her side on arrival – as a shield to avoid speaking to reporters, offering a stern ‘no’ when asked for a few words.
But the former friends found themselves standing just a stone’s throw away from each other during the reception, but failed to exchange any pleasantries.
Tame and Higgins once graced magazine covers together, including Marie Claire’s Women of the Year issue in 2021.
The rift between Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame (pictured) could not have been clearer at a crowded International Women’s Day celebration by Marie Claire in Sydney on Friday
Despite standing only a few metres from her, Tame also didn’t speak to former friend Brittany Higgins (pictured) while waiting for the event to begin
Tame went so far as to use friends such as Channel 10’s Narelda Jacobs and her wife Karina Natt as a shield to avoid speaking to the media
The behaviour is of little surprise after, Inside Mail earlier this week revealed what led to the secret bust-up between the pair.
Notably, Higgins didn’t appreciate the unsolicited relationship advice Tame offered years ago, namely that Higgins dump then-boyfriend David Sharaz.
Higgins didn’t. She happily accepted his proposal on top of a Byron Bay lighthouse on New Year’s Eve in 2022, before they married in June 2024.
The couple welcomed their first child Frederick Leon in March last year.
But perhaps the pair have simply grown apart, as their careers – and lives – have taken different directions over the past half-decade.
Higgins – having endured back-to-back legal sagas, starting with Bruce Lehrmann’s aborted criminal trial, then a high-profile civil case, followed by a defamation suit brought by her former boss Linda Reynolds – has entered a new phase of life.
She is looking to rebuild a professional career while raising a young family, and is no longer interested in the world of online bickering and grudges.
Meanwhile, Tame has widened her activist persona beyond its origins as an advocate for victim-survivors of sexual abuse.
Higgins is seen arriving to the event with Saxon Mullins, a sexual assault survivor and recipient of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2018 Young Persons’ Human Rights Medal
Higgins and Tame once shared a platform on Marie Claire’s Women of the Year issue back in 2021 – but are no longer firm friends
Inside Mail revealed this week that Higgins didn’t appreciate unsolicited relationship advice from Tame a few years ago urging her to dump then-boyfriend David Sharaz
Now, she is chanting ‘globalise the intifada’ to the horror of federal and state MPs, prompting a painful gaffe by Anthony Albanese when he referred to her as ‘difficult’.
A slew of Tame’s supporters were out in full force at the Marie Claire event, with Daily Mail noting a few ‘difficult woman’ branded T-shirts.
Tame’s strong criticisms can be a lot, especially for someone like Higgins who has spent years just trying to survive the next wave of online bile and political sniping.
As one friend of Higgins and her husband David Sharaz put it: ‘Brit doesn’t draw energy from that world anymore. She wants to move on with her life.’
The event on Friday was also attended by dozens of familiar faces, including Olympian Jess Fox, model Samantha Harris and musician Amy Shark.
Shark is on the judging panel for Australian Idol with Kyle Sandilands, and addressed questions about the media firestorm her colleague has faced this week.
‘Since day one of working with Kyle, he’s just been nothing but lovely to me,’ she told the Mail.
Musician Amy Shark sits on the judging panel for Australian Idol with Kyle Sandilands, and addressed questions about the media firestorm her colleague has faced this week
Kylie Sandilands, Amy Shark and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson are pictured
‘I can’t say that I’ve really had enough time to speak to him and I’m sort of giving him some space.
‘We’ve got a week or so off Idol, so I think it’s good for him to just take some time.’
KIIS FM’s parent company ARN announced on Tuesday that Jackie ‘O’ Henderson’s $100million contract had been terminated.
Henderson told executives she ‘cannot continue to work with Mr Kyle Sandilands’ after his harsh on-air comments in late February left her in tears.
Sandilands has been suspended and given 14 days to ‘remedy’ the breach, or else face termination.
