Tom Ballard (comedian)
Tom Ballard | |
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Victoria, Australia | |
Nationality | Australian |
Occupations |
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Political party | Greens[1] |
Thomas Colin Ballard (born 26 November 1989) is an Australian comedian, radio and television presenter.
Early life
Ballard was born to parents Judy and Neil Ballard and grew up in
He was also awarded the
Career
Stand-up comedy
He was a three-time
He was one of the "stars of the future" (along with Jacques Barrett, Lila Tillman, and Jack Druce) who were collectively promoted by the 2008 Melbourne International Comedy Festival as the "four freshest and funniest new talents we could find" and featured in the Festivals' Comedy Zone.[5]
Radio
Ballard was a presenter for Warrnambool's
In December 2008, Ballard and Dyson were the presenters for the weekday summer lunch slot (10 am to 2 pm) and in 2009 moved to the weekend breakfast slot.[7] On 23 November 2009, Triple J announced that Ballard and Dyson would take over as hosts of the 2010 Breakfast show.
In November 2013, Ballard resigned from Triple J after 7 years with the station to focus on his stand-up comedy.
Television
Ballard has appeared on .
In 2014, Ballard hosted
In 2016, Ballard was cast in the second season of SBS TV series First Contact.[8]
In 2017, Ballard was appointed host of news and culture TV program on ABC Comedy, Tonightly with Tom Ballard.[9]
Ballard appeared on the panel show Patriot Brains in 2021.
Personal life
Ballard is gay.
Ballard describes himself as "gay Gen Y middle-class public school-educated son of left-leaning-parents."[13] He is an atheist and critic of religion.[14]
Sexual assault allegations
In June 2014, Adelaide comedian JooYung Roberts went to the South Australia Police alleging that Ballard had sexually assaulted him in a hotel room after a comedy show.[15][16] In 2018, Roberts, inspired by the #metoo movement, published a statement on his Facebook page, stating that after striking up a conversation at the hotel bar, Ballard invited Roberts, then 20 years old, up to his hotel room then kissed and fondled him without his consent.[17][18] In the post Roberts stated that, "It was a traumatising experience for many reasons, one of those being I'm a heterosexual".[17] In response, Ballard released a statement on his website denying the allegation "in the strongest terms possible" and insisting the encounter was "consensual".[19]
Political views and advocacy
Ballard hosted the ABC political and cultural comedy commentary program Tonightly with Tom Ballard. He has used his comedy to advocate on a range of political issues.
He has written and spoken of his hatred for conservative columnists Miranda Devine, Andrew Bolt and Janet Albrechtsen and broadcaster Alan Jones. In 2012, he published "My Letter to Miranda Devine" in which he strongly criticised Devine for writing that "the ideal situation for a child to be raised in is an intact family with a father and a mother".[13]
Ballard has been a vocal critic of Australian government policy towards asylum seekers. In 2016 he told SBS: "I've found myself getting really angry about the way we treat refugees as a country. I figured if I could take that passion and interest and funnel it into my comedy I might come up with something that would be a different way for people to engage with the whole topic."[20] In 2017 Ballard told the ABC "I'm a painful atheist and bang on about it quite regularly in my comedy", but added that his "strident atheism" had been tempered in recent years through his involvement in refugee advocacy and meeting faith leaders in that space "living the best values of the Christian teaching."[14]
In 2016, Ballard signed an open letter to the editors of The Australian newspaper condemning that paper's decision to publish a Bill Leak cartoon depicting a neglectful Aboriginal father.[21]
In 2018, a senior ABC executive apologised to Australian Conservatives candidate Kevin Bailey after he was labelled a "cunt" ahead of the Batman by-election on Ballard's Tonightly program.[22]
Tonightly with Tom Ballard was dropped from the ABC line up and aired for the last time on 7 September 2018. This followed an ABC review which determined the show failed to meet a quality threshold.[23]
On 23 September Ballard endorsed the Victorian Socialists for the 2018 Victorian State Election.
Discography
Albums
Title | Album details |
---|---|
The Bits We're Least Ashamed of (with Alex) |
|
Tonightly Album |
|
Awards and nominations
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | The Bits We're Least Ashamed of (with Alex Dyson) | Best Comedy Release | Won | [24] |
2018 | "Sex Pest" (with Bridie and Wyatt) | Won |
References
- ^ @TomCBallard (13 April 2020). "I've signed this open letter alongside other @Greens members supporting the One Member One Vote option in the leade..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Brauer College 2007 V.C.E. Results". brauer.vic.edu.au. Brauer Secondary College. 2007. Archived from the original on 5 April 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
- ^ a b "VCE Achiever Award". VCAA Bulletin (VCE, VCAL and VET) (PDF). Vol. 55. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. December 2007. p. 19. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Lander, Carole; Bartle, Claire (2007). "VCAA Plain English Speaking Award – Report 2007" (PDF). Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
- ^ "The Comedy Zone". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. 2008. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
- ^ Taylor, Belle (6 January 2010). "Changing of the guard at Triple J". The West Australian. p. 2. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ^ Liptai, Tina. Comedy duo hit bigtime: National breakfast, Warrnabool Standard, 11 December 2008, accessed 26 December 2008.
- ^ Quinn, Karl (18 November 2016). "First Contact review: David Oldfield's verdict on 'Stone Age' culture". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016.
- ^ "The world is a scary place, and Tom Ballard is here to help". ABC News. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ Molloy, Shannon (24 July 2014). "Gay comedian and ABC TV host Tom Ballard tried dating app Tinder and failed". News.com.au. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Connolly, Paul (16 October 2015). "Comedian Josh Thomas discusses homophobia in the gay community". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Hook, Chris (20 October 2011). "Tom Ballard at the Blevoir St". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ a b Ballard, Tom (22 October 2012). "My Letter To Miranda Devine". tomballard.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ a b Hegarty, Siobhan (24 October 2017). "Are we losing our religion? Four young Aussies share their take on spirituality". Religion and Ethics Report (Radio National). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ "Adelaide comedian speaks publicly after alleged assault by Tom Ballard". ABC News. 12 June 2018.
- ^ "Comedian Tom Ballard publishes statement denying sexual assault allegation". ABC News. 10 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Comedian 'battled suicidal urges' after alleged Tom Ballard assault". 12 June 2018.
- ^ "Tom Ballard denies sex assault claims". Herald Sun. 10 June 2018.
- ^ "Tom Ballard, comedian and host of ABC show Tonightly, denies sexual assault allegation". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Tom Ballard: Using Comedy for Change; sbs.com.au; 29 March 2016
- ^ QandA: Festival of the Arts; Monday 13 March 2017
- ^ ABC executive apologises to Kevin Bailey over Tonightly skit smh.com.au; 23 March 2018
- ^ "Tom Ballard's ABC talk show has been axed". News.com.au. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
- ^ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
External links
- Official website
- Profile on Triple J