Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing criticism from the Coalition for remarks made during a recent podcast appearance, with accusations of disrespect towards Japan's first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
During an appearance on Nova's Bush Deep podcast, Albanese discussed a gift of two Shizuoka melons presented by Takaichi during her visit to Australia. The melons were a symbol of Australia's reopening of its market to Japanese melon imports. Podcast host Nikki Osborne jokingly asked if Takaichi had "smuggled" the melons, making a hand gesture and referencing Pamela Anderson. Albanese responded by making a similar gesture and saying, "Got a couple of melons."
Opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson urged Albanese to apologize to Takaichi and "all women," stating that women had been drawn into his "crude locker room talk." She called his comments "disrespectful."
This latest controversy follows previous backlash over Albanese's participation in a "shag, marry, date" game segment on the same podcast. When asked to choose between celebrities Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, and Rhonda Burchmore, Albanese, who had been married for six months at the time, responded, "Kylie, clearly." He indicated he would "marry" and "all of the above" for Minogue.
Osborne also asked Albanese if he and his wife, Jodie Haydon, were "bonking like rabbits." Albanese replied, "Well, when we have time," adding that "After the footy. It's always a good aphrodisiac, a Souths win," referencing his favorite NRL team.
Albanese has since apologized for the comments.
Defence Minister Richard Marles and Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek defended Albanese, highlighting his record of supporting women. However, Community Strong MP Zali Steggall described the Prime Minister's response to the "shag, marry, date" question as "entirely inappropriate" and stated that he "needs to learn to push back, lead by example and call it out as sexist."
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce commented that Albanese's remarks were "a bit below him." He suggested that Albanese should have avoided the question, as most people would have done.
