Australian PM Albanese Slammed Over Melon Joke About Japanese PM
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has drawn sharp criticism after making a joke deemed offensive about a gift of melons from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during her visit to Australia. Albanese faced further censure for resisting calls to apologise.
Albanese had previously been criticised and issued an apology for comments made during an interview with the ‘Bush Deep’ podcast last month, in which he said he wanted to ‘hook up’ with renowned Australian singer Kylie Minogue.
However, other remarks from Albanese in the same interview, in which the Australian prime minister joked about a gift from Prime Minister Takaichi during a state visit in May, sparked anger from his political opponents this week. The joke was considered insulting to the Japanese prime minister.
The joke was made during a conversation with podcast host Nikki Osborne at his official residence. Albanese initially quipped that he had received a ‘strange’ gift of premium melons, a hallmark of the Japanese Empire, from Prime Minister Takaichi. In Japan, according to a former Japanese ambassador to Australia, premium melons are considered luxury items and can cost more than A$270.
When the host asked whether Prime Minister Takaichi had ‘smuggled’ the melons through Australian biosecurity checks, Albanese raised both hands and said ‘carrying a pair of melons’. The podcast host added, ‘She arrived looking like Pamela Anderson.’
Australia’s opposition leader urged Albanese to apologise for the joke, which he described as ‘insulting’. When asked in parliament on Tuesday whether he would apologise for his ‘disrespectful behaviour’, Albanese said: ‘I reject the premise of that statement.’ He added, ‘Prime Minister Takaichi is a great friend of Australia and a friend of mine.’
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also dismissed suggestions that Albanese’s comments were intended as an insult. ‘The Prime Minister has made clear he did not intend his comments to be interpreted in the way his critics have done,’ Wong said, referring to the government opposition.