Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese apologized “unequivocally” on Monday for insinuating in a recent podcast that he would “shag”—a vulgar term that means to have sex with—pop star Kylie Minogue.
The Prime Minister’s office issued a brief statement Monday in response to backlash over Albanese’s appearance on a local comedian’s July 3 podcast episode, in which he was asked to answer which Australian entertainer he would “shag, marry, date” among Minogue, actress Nicole Kidman, and singer-actress Rhonda Burchmore.
Albanese, who married his partner, Jodie Haydon, in November 2025 and became the country’s first leader to marry while in office, initially appeared to evade the question, citing his recent wedding. But when pressed further, the Australian leader said, “Oh, Kylie, clearly.”
When podcast host Nikki Osborne clarified, “You’d marry Kylie, shag her, and date her?” Albanese replied, “All of the above.”
Osborne asks her other guests the same question, though the individuals offered as response options typically vary. Albanese’s exchange was met with criticism from Australian parliamentarians.
Zali Steggall, a member of the newly-formed Community Strong Australia party, told The Australian newspaper that it was “entirely inappropriate for the Prime Minister to participate in such a game,” adding that Albanese “needs to learn to push back, lead by example and call it out as sexist.”
In a statement on social media, Sarah Henderson, opposition Senator for the state of Victoria, said Albanese’s “whisky-fueled” comments were “disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and demean the office of Prime Minister,” adding that the leader “got into the gutter with his grubby remarks.”
Another Senator from the opposition, Maria Kovacic, told Sky News Australia that Albanese’s remarks were a “pretty poor error in judgment” and that “there are so many more important things that we should be talking about.”
Meanwhile, Minogue herself has not publicly commented on the Albanese controversy, as of Monday.
Party colleagues come to Albanese’s defense
Some of Albanese’s colleagues in his Labor Party refused to outright condemn his statements on the podcast.
Others, however, took to his defense. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles pointed out Albanese’s record on women-focused policies, and he claimed that the podcast interview was of a different nature than standard ones with the Prime Minister.
Marles told ABC Radio that Albanese’s government was “the first government in our nation’s history which has had an equality in terms of the numbers of men and women in cabinet.” In Albanese’s Cabinet, there are 12 women and 11 men, including him.
According to the 2025 World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report, Australia under Albanese ranks 13th among 148 countries and territories in terms of achieving gender parity. Women also comprise almost half of the Australian parliament, at 49.6%.
Albanese’s government has repeatedly touted its gender-equality agenda, highlighting the country’s first-ever national strategy to implement it. His government also points to shrinking the gender pay gap and boosting support for women’s reproductive health.
Social services minister Tanya Plibersek also tried to contextualize Albanese’s statement. “If what the Prime Minister’s saying is that 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,” Plibersek told local broadcaster Seven on Monday.
But others have pointed out that the Prime Minister’s remarks on Minogue come after he criticized a campaign targeting the female premier of Victoria, saying in a social media post last month that “no matter who you support in politics, it is completely unacceptable to demean, objectify, belittle or offend women.”
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