Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has broken his silence on his controversial podcast interview with comedian Nikki Osborne, saying he has apologised and learnt his lesson.
On July 3, Mr Albanese sat down with Osborne as her alter ego “Bushie” at The Lodge in Canberra where he participated in a game of “shag, marry, date” and revealed he would do “all of the above” with Kylie Minogue, adding “she’s terrific”.
He also talked about his sex life with new wife Jodie Haydon and made a sexual innuendo about two royal melons Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gifted him.
On Thursday, Mr Albanese finally responded to the backlash about appearing on Osborne’s Bush Deep, a Nova Entertainment podcast she launched in May.
“Look, I’ve dealt with that issue,” he told the ABC.
“There’s two things you need to do if you’ve made a mistake. One is to apologise. Second is to learn the lessons from it. And I’ve done both.”
It comes after Mr Albanese initially issued a one-sentence statement on July 6: “I apologise unequivocally for the comments.”
The Prime Minister faced heavy criticism and left commentators in Australia torn between whether it was just a bit of fun or a serious mistake for a world leader.
Meanwhile, Osborne’s Instagram following began to increase, so much so she celebrated 500,000 followers at the weekend.
“We did it! Half a million followers on Instagram! What a ride 😅,” she captioned an Instagram photo of herself wearing a glamorous yellow dress.
The photo was taken before she headed off to the premiere of the new Legally Blonde prequel series Ellie, now streaming on Prime Video.
“Also, I finally got some girly time. I love any excuse to wear a new dress. 👗 Nice beat change tonight,” she continued.
On Wednesday, Osborne shared an update saying she was “on a crazy ride right now”.
“Yes there’s the trolls but also the gateway of opportunity has been unlocked and I’m running right through it.”
In the 20 minute podcast with Mr Albanese, which now has more than 68,000 views on YouTube, the PM was asked to choose between Aussie treasures Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, and Rhonda Burchmore.
“I’ve just got married, I’m only six months in,” he responded.
“But if it goes t.... up, let’s just pretend,” Osborne probed.
“Oh, Kylie clearly,” the PM said.
“You’d marry Kylie, and shag her and date her?” Osborne asked.
“All of the above . . . she’s terrific,” Mr Albanese confirmed.
He also joked about a melon gift from Japanese PM Ms Takaichi, saying she had a “couple of melons” and “they’re beautiful”.
Osborne also joked about whether the Albaneses were “still bonking like rabbits”.
“Well, you know, when we have time . . . After the footy. It’s always a good aphrodisiac, a South (Sydney Rabbitohs) win,” Mr Albanese said.
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