Following backlash over his comments last week, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a formal apology for “inappropriate” comments he made about model and public figure Kylie Minogue.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese apologizes for comments about Kylie Minogue
The BBC reported that the prime minister issued a formal statement after facing backlash from the public and within the political sphere. “I apologize unequivocally for the comments,” he said of comments he made last week while appearing on the ‘Bush Deep’ podcast with comedian Nikki Osborne.During the interview, the Prime Minister had received three names: Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and Rhonda Burchmore. She was then asked to choose from the three stars who she should “dating, marrying or dating”. The interview took place at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Canberra, and was widely criticized by the public for being in poor taste. He said, “Oh, Kylie, of course.”However, she initially avoided the question, telling the interviewer: “I just got married, I’ve only been married for six months.” In response, Osborne clarified, asking: “Would you marry Kylie, would you go and date her?” To which he replied: “All of the above. She’s fantastic.”Many people commented on the matter and called him out for playing the game and commenting on Kylie. The independent deputy Zali Steggall stated that “he must learn to step back, set an example and call it sexist”. Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson further stated in her official comment that the remarks were “disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and disrespectful to the office of Prime Minister. Instead of politely refusing to take part, Mr Albanese stepped on the edge with his dirty comments, which show extremely poor judgment at a time when confidence in Labor is collapsing.”Although it received significant backlash, there have been no public statements regarding the matter from Kylie Minogue.