Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued an apology July 6 after publicly admitting he would “shag” pop star Kylie Minogue.
The married politician made the crude remark about Minogue during the July 2 episode of the “Bush Deep” podcast hosted by Nikki Osborne. When Osborne asked him which three female celebrities he would “shag, marry, [or] date” — Minogue, Nicole Kidman, or Ronda Burchmore — Albanese initially declined to respond, noting he was recently married. Osborne pressed further, asking Albanese who he would choose if his marriage dissolved.
“Kylie, clearly,” Albanese replied.
Osborne doubles down by asking, “You’d marry Kylie, and shag her, and date her?”
Albanese answered, “All of the above.”
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 14: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media at Parliament House Canberra on December 14, 2025 in Canberra, Australia. Two gunmen dressed in black fired several shots at Sydney’s world-famous Bondi Beach, causing at least 10 injuries and three deaths, and setting off mass panic on a Sunday evening. (Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images)
Albanese, part of the Australian Labor Party, faced swift backlash from members of the public and opposition lawmakers.
Liberal Party Sen. Sarah Henderson of the state of Victoria criticized his comments, saying they were “disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and demean the office of Prime Minister.”
Anthony Albanese’s whisky-fuelled comments on the ‘Deep Bush’ podcast are disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and demean the office of Prime Minister.
Comedian Nikki Osborne is very good at her craft and cleverly skewered the Prime Minister throughout her… pic.twitter.com/VfrBMPMDNV
— Senator Sarah Henderson (@SenSHenderson) July 5, 2026
Henderson argued that Osborne “skewered the Prime Minister throughout her interview.”
“Rather than politely decline to engage, Mr Albanese got into the gutter with his grubby remarks, which show extremely poor judgement at a time when trust in Labor is collapsing,” she continued.
“Mr Albanese’s crude locker room talk makes a mockery of Labor’s claim to be champions of women,” she said. “How low can this Prime Minister go? Australians deserve better than this.” (RELATED: Kylie Minogue Reveals She Secretly Battled Cancer A Second Time)
Liberal Sen. Maria Kovacic of the state of New South Wales called Albanese’s comments a “pretty poor error in judgement” while speaking with Sky News Australia, according to a July 6 report.
Kylie Minogue performing ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ during The 22nd BRIT Awards Show, Earls Court 2, London, UK, Wednesday 20 February 2002. (Photo by JMEnternational/Getty Images)
A one line apology from the Prime Minister is wholly inadequate. pic.twitter.com/XizEAwqqm1
— Senator Sarah Henderson (@SenSHenderson) July 6, 2026
Albanese addressed the wave of criticism in a statement issued July 6 to CNN, which read, “I apologise unequivocally for the comments.”
Henderson trolled his apology on social media in a message that read, “A one-line apology from the Prime Minister is wholly inadequate.”
Minogue and Burchmore were both born in Australia, while Kidman holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Australia.
Minogue has not publicly addressed the comments.