The Australian leader made the remarks about his Japanese counterpart last month, sparking backlash over perceived disrespect
1-MIN READ1-MINAgence France-PressePublished: 3:10pm, 11 Aug 2026Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sidestepped calls to apologise on Tuesday after a clip emerged of him engaging in crude banter about a gift from his Japanese counterpart.Albanese had already faced a backlash and apologised over comments made during an interview last month with the Bush Deep podcast in which he said he would “shag” singer Kylie Minogue.
During the conversation with host Nikki Osborne at his official residence, the Australian leader joked that he’d received a “strange” present of a Japanese royal melon from Takaichi.
When the host asked if she had smuggled the fruit through Australian customs, Albanese held his hands up and said “got a couple of melons”.
