Australian prime minister apologizes for comments about Kylie Minogue
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has apologized for comments he made about songstress Kylie Minogue while playing a game during a recent podcast appearance.
During a July 2 appearance on comedian Nikki Osborne's podcast "Bush Deep," the prime minister played a round of "Shag, Marry, Date," where participants choose among three people and put them each into a category: who they'd shag (or have sexual relations with), who they'd marry and who they'd date.
According to the show's host, she asks each podcast guest to play the game. For Albanese's appearance, she asked him to decide whether he'd shag, marry, or date singer Kylie Minogue, actress Nicole Kidman or entertainer Rhonda Burchmore.
"I've just got married," said Albanese, who married Jodie Haydon in November 2025. "I'm only six months in."
Osborne pushed back and asked if his marriage were to end, who he'd choose.
"Oh, Kylie, clearly," the prime minister said.
"You'd marry Kylie, and shag her and date her?" Osborne asked.
"All of the above," the prime minister replied. "She's terrific."
Prime minister apologizes after backlash
The "Bush Deep" podcast features Osborne portraying a character named Bushie, a "wildly inappropriate journalist (who) tears her way across Australia in search of a good yarn," Nova Entertainment, which owns the podcast, said on its website. "Bushie sits down with celebrities and everyday legends alike, asking the questions no one else would dare."
Australian Senator Sarah Henderson condemned Albanese remarks on X on July 5.
"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," she wrote. "Comedian Nikki Osborne is very good at her craft and cleverly skewered the prime minister throughout her interview."
Henderson said the prime minister could've chosen to "politely decline" when asked to participate, but instead he "got into the gutter with his grubby remarks which show extremely poor judgement."
"I apologise unequivocally for the comments," Albanese said in a statement to USA TODAY after the backlash.
Henderson said a one-line apology isn't enough and Albanese needs to apologize to "all women caught up in his crude locker room talk." She shared a clip of him discussing his recent marriage.
USA TODAY contacted Osborne and Nova Entertainment on July 6 but did not immediately receive a response.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's trending team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Australian prime minister apologizes for comments about Kylie Minogue
Reporting by Saleen Martin, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 7:58 AM.