Married Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese broke his silence Monday after he was heavily criticized for revealing on a podcast that he would have s£x with pop star Kylie Minogue.
“I apologize unequivocally for the comments,” the politician, 63, said.
Albanese, who tied the knot in November last year, raised eyebrows when he was asked by “Bush Deep” podcast host Nikki Osborne who he would have sex with, marry, or date out of Minogue, Nicole Kidman and Rhonda Burchmore.
“I’ve just got married, I’m only six months in,” Albanese initially said in the episode published Friday, refusing to take the bait.
“But if it all goes t-ts up, let’s just pretend,” Osborne said, trying to get an answer out of Australia’s Labor Party leader.
“Kylie clearly,” Albanese said.
“You’d marry Kylie, and shag her, and date her?” Osborne said.
“All of the above,” Albanese replied, without saying the word “shag.”
Minogue hasn’t commented – but Albanese was slammed by Australian politicians.
Sarah Henderson, Australia’s shadow communications minister, said “Australians deserve better” in a stinging rebuke.
“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 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.”
Zali Steggall, an MP for Australia’s Community Strong party, said the pol’s answer was “entirely inappropriate.”
“He needs to learn to push back, lead by example and call it out as sexist,” she said.
Stegall warned Albanese’s comments were “beneath the office of prime minister,” Rolling Stone reported.