Anthony Albanese apologised unequivocally on Monday for comments he made about Kylie Minogue in a podcast interview that drew sharp criticism from members of parliament. The apology came after the remarks were released at the end of last week and turned a light-style exchange into a political problem for the prime minister.
Albanese appeared on the Bush Deep podcast with comedian Nikki Osborne in a 20-minute interview recorded in the prime minister’s official residence in Canberra. Osborne asked whether he would “shag, marry or date” Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman or Rhonda Burchmore, a question that set up the moment now being replayed across politics and entertainment circles.
He first tried to sidestep it by saying, “I’ve just got married, I’m only six months in.” But when Osborne pressed him — “You’d marry Kylie, and shag her, and date her?” — he answered, “Oh, Kylie, clearly,” then added, “All of the above” and “She’s terrific.” The line landed badly because it was not a throwaway aside that slipped out; it was a direct answer after he had already had a chance to step away.
That is why the apology matters. Zali Steggall called the remarks “entirely inappropriate,” while Sarah Henderson said they were “disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and demean the office of Prime Minister.” Richard Marles defended the government’s record, saying it was “utterly committed” to the elevation of women in society and noting that Albanese’s government is the first in history to have equal numbers of men and women in cabinet.
There is no indication yet of any formal political or disciplinary consequence beyond the public apology, and that is the unresolved piece. Albanese married his partner Jodie Haydon in November, which gives the exchange its awkward edge, but it does not explain away the choice to answer the question the way he did. The same interview also touched on a “strange” but ultimately “quite good” gift from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who brought two melons, but the damage from the Kylie Minogue remark is the part likely to linger.
