Nikki Osborne says Qantas staff told her to 'button up' because her cleavage was 'distracting'

Nikki Osborne said she was told by Qantas staff to "button up" in a Qantas lounge because her cleavage was "too distracting," a complaint the Nova 106.9 Brisbane presenter raised on her breakfast show on Monday.

On the Ash, Luttsy & Nikki Osborne program, the 44-year-old comedian said the interaction reflected what she sees as a pattern of negative treatment of women with larger breasts. "If women have cleavage they are treated not as well, that's my opinion," Osborne told listeners, adding that she had been instructed to button her top "last week in the Qantas lounge."

Osborne argued that women with ample busts are often subject to stereotyping and objectification and cited public figures such as Pamela Anderson and Sydney Sweeney as examples of how society judges women for their bodies. "I feel like as a collective we're subjectively objectifying these women. We're subconsciously judging women with bigger boobs... I'm noticing it more and more in a negative way," she said on air.

The Nova presenter also shared an older clip she said led to her being removed from a role on Channel Nine. In the footage, which she posted to Instagram, Osborne discussed whether "grown women look weird" in onesies and made a risqué joke about lingerie that prompted visible reactions from fellow hosts Sonia Kruger and David Campbell. Osborne captioned the reposted clip "Gobble Gobble #fyp #controversy #turkeystuffing."

Osborne joined Nova's 106.9 Brisbane breakfast team in December, replacing former swimmer Susie O'Neill. She has worked for more than two decades as a sketch comedian, writer, trained actor and stand-up performer, and maintains a significant social media presence with recurring characters such as "Angry Aunt" and "Bush Barbie." In 2020 she competed on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, finishing 13th.

The Daily Mail, which first reported the exchange, said it had approached Qantas for comment. Osborne's remarks come amid recurring public debates about dress codes, workplace grooming standards and the policing of women's clothing in public spaces.

Osborne's account adds to ongoing discussions in media and society about when and how institutions enforce appearance standards and whether those standards are applied differently across genders and body types.