Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued an apology after making controversial remarks about singer Kylie Minogue during a podcast interview. The 63-year-old Labour leader said he would 'shag, marry, and date' the 58-year-old pop star when asked a quickfire question by comedian Nikki Osborne.
Podcast comments spark backlash
The interview was filmed at Albanese's official residence in Canberra. Osborne asked: 'Shag, marry, date: Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, or Rhonda Burchmore?' Initially, Albanese feigned offence, saying he had just married partner Jodie Haydon six months earlier. However, when pressed, he replied: 'Oh, Kylie, clearly.' Osborne then asked: 'You'd marry Kylie? And shag her? And date her?' Albanese responded: 'All of the above.' He added: 'She's terrific.'
The comments drew widespread criticism, prompting Albanese to release a one-line statement this morning: 'I apologise unequivocally for the comments.'
Political condemnation
Community Strong MP Zali Steggall branded the remarks 'entirely inappropriate' and said Albanese 'never should've played the game.' She added: 'He needs to learn to push back, lead by example and call it out as sexist.' Shadow communications minister Sarah Henderson called the comments 'disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians, and demeaning the office of prime minister.' She said: 'Mr Albanese's crude locker-room talk makes a mockery of Labor's claim to be champions of women. How low can this prime minister go? Australians deserve better than this.' Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg told Radio National that the quip was 'beneath his office' and 'shouldn't' have been said.
Defence from Labor colleagues
Labor minister Tanya Plibersek defended Albanese's gender equality record, saying: 'If what the prime minister is saying is he's a fan of Kylie Minogue, I guess that puts him in a group with millions of other Australians, including me. I'm a big fan of Kylie's as well.' She added: 'What I'd say on women's equality in this country is no government's been better for it, and no prime minister's been better for it.' Acting Prime Minister Richard Marle insisted the government is 'utterly committed' to elevating women, noting that Albanese's cabinet is the first in history with gender equality in numbers.
Other eyebrow-raising comments
The podcast also featured other remarks that raised eyebrows. When asked about the worst gift received on a business visit, Albanese said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gave him two melons, which was 'strange' but 'quite good'. Osborne asked: 'She just came in looking like Pamela Anderson?' Albanese smiled and waved his hands in front of his chest. Despite the controversy, the podcast was widely praised in YouTube comments for its casual tone.
Kylie Minogue's silence
Minogue has not yet responded to the controversy. The singer has long been viewed as an inspiration to women through her music and activism. In 2014, when she became the only female coach on The Voice, she responded to the show's 'gender imbalance' by saying: 'I have to say this is working for me… And I hope that I'm giving a voice to the women, the girls who look up to me or anyone like me in the business.' Recently, amid her Netflix docuseries, she reflected on public scrutiny and misogyny, saying: 'There's always a lot of talk about how much I've changed. I was famous before I knew what I was doing, so, you know, and there came a lot of the criticism and the hardship with that, but what's illuminating to me is, in so many ways, I haven't changed.' She also noted: 'It would be nice not to be asked about your age. I'm still asked about it. I don't know that Mick Jagger gets asked about it. I think as a whole we're much more open-minded. But there'll always be a way to go.'
