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Tom Ballard (comedian)

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Not to be confused with Tim Ballard or Tom Bollard.

Tom Ballard
Ballard at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Born
Thomas Colin Ballard

1989 or 1990 (age 33–34)
Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia
Occupations
  • Comedian
  • radio presenter
  • television presenter
Political partyAustralian Greens
AwardsHelpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer (2016)

Thomas Colin Ballard (born 1989 or 1990) is an Australian comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. Starting out in radio, he became known as a Triple J host, along with his friend Alex Dyson, over seven years with the station. He his known for his stand-up comedy, as a host of podcasts, and as television presenter, such as the 2017 ABC Television comedy show Tonightly with Tom Ballard. He is author of the 2022 book I, Millennial: One Snowflake's Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires and Everything Else.

Early life and education

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Thomas Colin Ballard[1] was born in 1989 or 1990[2] in Warrnambool, Victoria, and grew up there.[3][4]

He attended Brauer Secondary College, graduating in 2007 as School Captain and Dux and achieving an Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank of 99.80 in his Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE).[5] In 2006, when he was still at school, he submitted an essay to the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University, titled "We Have More to Fear From the State than From Terrorists: Who's Afraid of Terrorism?",[6] which won its 2006 Human Writes Essay Competition, open to all year 11 and 12 students across Victoria.[7] Also while at school, he won the Victorian plain English speaking competition; was presenting regularly on Triple J radio; was one of a school team which won the Apex Australian national debating final; was chosen to attend the National Schools Constitutional Convention in Canberra; as one of a team of three won the national mooting championship; and, after selection as one of the top theatre students in Victoria, performed in Top Acts at a local theatre.[8] During his VCE year, Ballard competed in and won the VCAA's Plain English Speaking Award with a speech titled "bullying.com". He went on to place second in the national competition to Daniel Swain, with the two being chosen to represent Australia in the International Public Speaking Competition held in London in May 2008.[9] He was also awarded the VCAA's 2007 VCE Achiever's Award.[10] His success in the public speaking competition and his activism with school and local youth communities on topics such as anti-homosexuality and cyberbullying helped earn him the Achiever's Award.[10]

After leaving school, he had wanted to become an actor, and applied to do a bachelor of dramatic art at the Victorian College of the Arts, but missed out on a place in the first round.[8] He moved to Melbourne studied law at Monash University for around six weeks,[11] but found his life too busy, after presenting his debut solo show at the Comedy Festival as well as presenting on radio.[2]

Career

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Stand-up comedy

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Ballard was a three-time Class Clowns national finalist in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival,[11] and a Raw Comedy national finalist by 2006.[12] He performed across Victoria as part of the Young Blood Comedy Tour in 2007, and had a guest spot in the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Eskimo Jokes show. He also performed in the 2008 Comedy Festival as part of the Comedy Zone,[13][12] as one of the "stars of the future" (along with Jacques Barrett, Lila Tillman, and Jack Druce).[14]

Ballard performed his first stand-up show in 2009, entitled Tom Ballard Is What He Is, "about growing up and coming out in regional Victoria. He has performed stand-up in festivals, on television, and on tours around the country,[11] including at Pridefest WA in Perth, Western Australia in 2012.[15]

In 2015, he toured his show Taxis & Rainbows & Hatred, which he based on a 2013 homophobic incident directed at him in a taxi in Newcastle, around various comedy festivals,[11] including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He went by invitation to the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, Canada, where he performed alongside Wanda Sykes and Jimmy Carr. He returned the following year, and participated in Comedy Central Roast and performed on LOL Live, presented by Kevin Hart.[12]

Among other awards, Ballard won the Helpmann Award for Best Comedy Performer in 2016, for The World Keeps Happening.[16]

In 2017, his show Problematic was one of three best-reviewed shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.[16]

Radio

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Ballard was a presenter for Warrnambool's 3WAY FM community radio station with Alex Dyson.[17]

After being noticed in the Raw Comedy event, Ballard and Dyson were recruited by Triple J to host the midnight to dawn show, then the weekday summer lunch slot (10 am to 2 pm), from 2009, the breakfast show (6 am to 10 am).[18][3] In November 2013, Ballard resigned from Triple J after seven years with the station, to focus on his stand-up comedy.[12]

He has since made various appearances on radio, including as a guest host on Nazeem Hussain Heals the World on Triple J in 2015, and on 2Day FM's Breakfast with Rove and Sam in 2016.[12]

Television

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As host or actor

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In 2014, Ballard hosted Reality Check, a panel discussion program about reality television.[12] He guest-hosted on Q&A twice in 2015.[12]

In 2017, Ballard was appointed host of news and culture TV program on ABC Comedy, Tonightly with Tom Ballard.[19] The show was dropped from the ABC line-up and aired for the last time on 7 September 2018, following an ABC review which determined the show failed to meet a quality threshold.[20]

He was cast in Deadloch[3] (released June 2023 on Amazon Prime Video) as Sven Alderman, a well-meaning but simple gay police officer.[21]

Appearances as self

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Ballard has also appeared on The Project, Spicks and Specks, It's a Date,[12] Celebrity Name Game, Show Me the Movie!, Hughesy, We Have a Problem,[16] Patriot Brains (2021),[22] and Celebrity Mastermind (2020).[3] In 2024, he was a contestant on the Australian show Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee.[citation needed]

In 2016, Ballard was cast in the second season of SBS reality show/documentary series First Contact.[23]

Podcasts

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Ballard wrote and broadcast the podcast Like I'm A Six-Year-Old for eight years, from around 2015 until May 2023.[24]

As of 2024 Ballard co-hosts the left-leaning political podcast Serious Danger, with Emerald Moon,[25] "about our broken political system and its greatest threat, the Australian Greens". The 100th episode was performed live in Melbourne on 18 November 2023.[24]

Writing

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Apart from comedy written to be performed live, Ballard has written for The Warrnambool Standard, Good Weekend, Triple J magazine, Guardian Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald, Junkee, and Fairfax Online.[12]

He also wrote a humorous but scathing critique of neoliberalism and its impact on the economy and politics of Australia, a book called I, Millennial: One Snowflake's Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires and Everything Else, published in 2022.[26]

Political views and advocacy

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Ballard makes no secret of the fact that he is left-leaning politically. He endorsed the Victorian Socialists for the 2018 Victorian state election.[27][28] In a 2020 tweet he revealed that he was a member of the Australian Greens.[29]

He has also criticised specific commentary, policies, and people, including:

Personal life

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Ballard is gay.[34] Ballard describes himself as "gay Gen Y middle-class public school-educated son of left-leaning-parents."[30] He is an atheist and critic of religion.[35]

He and comedian Josh Thomas were each other's first boyfriend.[36] As their two-and-a-half-year relationship was ending in 2010, Thomas was on tour with his show Surprise, "all about being young, gay and in love for the first time". Ballard premiered his show, Since 1989, at the Belvoir St Theatre the following year. Dealing with his childhood and first relationship, and largely written prior to the break-up, Ballard described the experience as giving him "an element of closure".[37]

As of 2024 his partner is Harley, whom he met in early 2020. He has a fixie road bike, and has never owned a car.[3]

Sexual assault allegations

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In June 2014, Adelaide comedian JooYung Roberts reported to the South Australia Police that Ballard had allegedly sexually assaulted him in a hotel room after a comedy show,[38][39] but the police had told him that the actions he had reported had been within the law.[40] Inspired by the #metoo movement, in December 2017 Roberts reported the matter to SAPOL again, who re-investigated and said that it had been finalised.[40] Roberts identified himself by describing the incident on his Facebook page, in which he said that after striking up a conversation at the hotel bar, Ballard invited Roberts, then 20 years old, up to his hotel room then kissed him[41][42] and placed his hand on his (Ballard's) penis.[40] He said that it had been "a traumatising experience for many reasons, one of those being I'm a heterosexual".[41] In response, Ballard released a statement on his website denying the allegation "in the strongest terms possible" and insisting the encounter was consensual.[43] He said he had only became aware of the claim that the sexual interaction was not consensual around six months earlier.[40][38] Ballard said the allegation had caused distress to him as well as his family and friends, affecting his work and his mental health. He stated: "I abhor sexual assault and sexual violence. I absolutely support the philosophy of the #MeToo movement. I believe in supporting victims and ensuring those who have done wrong face justice. But I have not done anything wrong."[44]

Filmography

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Discography

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Albums

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List of albums
Title Album details
The Bits We're Least Ashamed of (with Alex)
  • Released: April 2013
  • Label: ABC, UMA (3713506)
  • Formats: CD, download
Tonightly Album
  • Released: October 2018
  • Label: ABC
  • Formats: download

Awards and nominations

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Ballard has won two ARIA Music Awards, a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2013 The Bits We're Least Ashamed of (with Alex Dyson) ARIA Award for Best Comedy Release Won [45]
2018 "Sex Pest" (with Bridie and Wyatt) Won

Other awards and nominations include:

Publications

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  • Ballard, T. (2022). I, Millennial: One Snowflake's Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires and Everything Else. Simon & Schuster Australia. ISBN 978-1-76110-064-2.

References

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  1. ^ Cahill, Mikey (17 April 2017). "Comedy Festival 2017: Tom Ballard, Problematic". Herald Sun. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b Ballard, Tom (25 November 2009). "Tom Ballard interview". Upstart (Interview). Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Ballard, Tom (17 March 2024). "Three things with Tom Ballard: 'It is an eternal, loving reminder of my humiliating failure'". The Guardian (Interview). Interviewed by Cunningham, Katie. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b Ballard, Tom (22 September 2017). "A Warrnamboolian's call for equality". The Standard. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ "Tom Ballard, Brauer College, Warrnambool". Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  7. ^ "2006 Castan Centre Human Rights Essay Competition". Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  8. ^ a b Healey, Madeline (17 December 2007). "Tom tops the tally, after a hectic year". The Standard. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ a b c d Wehner, Cyclone (3 March 2015). "The 'Bad, Weird, Homophobic' Experience Behind His New Show". The Music. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Tom Ballard: Comedian / Broadcaster / Actor" (PDF). Token Artists. 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Tom Ballard". Entertainment Bureau. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  14. ^ "The Comedy Zone". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. 2008. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
  15. ^ "Comedian Tom Ballard is the Pride of Perth". PerthNow. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Tom Ballard". Keynote Entertainment. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ Liptai, Tina (10 December 2008). "Comedy duo hit bigtime: National breakfast radio gig". The Standard. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  19. ^ "The world is a scary place, and Tom Ballard is here to help". ABC News. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Tom Ballard's ABC talk show has been axed". News.com.au. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  21. ^ Buckmaster, Luke (1 June 2023). "Deadloch review – ripsnorting whodunnit pumps new blood into old tropes". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Watch Patriot Brains: Season 1 Episode 9". SBS On Demand. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ a b "Podcast". Tom Ballard. 22 October 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  25. ^ "A New Podcast for Auspol Nerds". Greens.Org.Au. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  26. ^ Ballard, T. (2022). I, Millennial: One Snowflake's Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires and Everything Else. Simon & Schuster Australia. ISBN 978-1-76110-064-2.
  27. ^ Ballard, Tom (24 September 2018). "Happy to be endorsing the Victorian Socialists for the November election". Facebook (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  28. ^ Begg, Morgan (27 September 2018). "ABC Bias An #honestmistake". Institute of Public Affairs. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  29. ^ @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.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ Tom Ballard: Using Comedy for Change; sbs.com.au; 29 March 2016
  32. ^ QandA: Festival of the Arts; Monday 13 March 2017
  33. ^ ABC executive apologises to Kevin Bailey over Tonightly skit smh.com.au; 23 March 2018
  34. ^ 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.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ Connolly, Paul (16 October 2015). "Comedian Josh Thomas discusses homophobia in the gay community". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  37. ^ Hook, Chris (20 October 2011). "Tom Ballard at the Blevoir St". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  38. ^ a b "Adelaide comedian speaks publicly after alleged assault by Tom Ballard". ABC News. 12 June 2018.
  39. ^ "Comedian Tom Ballard publishes statement denying sexual assault allegation". ABC News. 10 June 2018.
  40. ^ a b c d "Comedian JooYung Roberts comes forward as Tom Ballard's accuser". OUTinPerth. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  41. ^ a b "Comedian 'battled suicidal urges' after alleged Tom Ballard assault". 12 June 2018.
  42. ^ "Tom Ballard denies sex assault claims". Herald Sun. 10 June 2018.
  43. ^ "Tom Ballard, comedian and host of ABC show Tonightly, denies sexual assault allegation". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  44. ^ Carmody, Broede (10 June 2018). "Tom Ballard denies indecent assault allegations". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  45. ^ "ARIA Awards Best Comedy Release". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  46. ^ Sangster, Ella (7 December 2022). "All the 2022 AACTA winners". Harper's Bazaar Australia. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  47. ^ "AACTA nominations: Mystery Road: Origin leads TV with 15". Mediaweek. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
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