Rhonda Burchmore offers some very blunt advice for Anthony Albanese after he chose Kylie Minogue over her on controversial game of 'shag, marry, date'

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 08:55, 7 July 2026 | Updated: 08:55, 7 July 2026 Rhonda Burchmore has revealed she nearly spat out her tea after hearing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pick Kylie Minogue during a game of 'shag, marry, date'.  The veteran entertainer found herself unwillingly embroiled in the controversial game after Albanese was asked to pick between her, Minogue and Nicole Kidman when he appeared on Nikki Osborne's Bush Deep podcast. After initially resisting, Albanese was pressed on what he would do if his marriage went 'tits up,' prompting his reply of: 'Oh, Kylie clearly.' 'You'd marry Kylie and shag her and date her?' Osborne followed up. 'All of the above,' Albanese answered. Speaking on Today Extra on Tuesday, Burchmore said she was shocked to hear her name mentioned, before taking a swipe at the Prime Minister. 'I was having my cup of tea and I nearly spat it out,' she said. 'But when I went, 'Oh my God,' and then he picked Kylie.... I figured, well, Nicole and I are kind of around the same. He must be intimidated by tall redheads.' Burchmore (pictured) said that she nearly spat out her tea after she heard the comments  Asked if she had any advice for the Prime Minister, Burchmore said he should be more careful about his future media appearances. 'I think maybe you should choose what podcast you go on in the future and what you're going to say, because that was like, 'Whoa, my gosh',' she said. Hosts David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys joked Albanese may have found Burchmore and Kidman 'too much' to handle.  Despite losing out to Minogue, Burchmore saw it as a compliment. 'I thought, what an incredible group of women to be part of. I was kind of flattered,' she said. But that feeling was short-lived, receiving a call from her husband soon after. 'My husband kind of rang and said, 'What the heck?'' she said. Burchmore said the reaction to Albanese's comments brought far more attention than she ever expected. Albanese (pictured) has faced backlash after he said he would 'shag' Kylie Minogue 'My goodness, I woke up yesterday, my phone was just swamped,' she said. Burchmore is currently starring in the national tour of the musical Anastasia, which wraps its Sydney leg later this month.  'I wish I could have that publicity for every show, but all the newspapers wanted to comment,' she said. On Monday, Albanese issued an apology through his office. 'I apologise unequivocally for the comments,' he said. The comments were slammed by Opposition frontbencher Sarah Henderson. She said on Monday night they were 'embarrassing and disrespectful'. 'A one-line apology from the Prime Minister is wholly inadequate,' she wrote on social media. Rhonda Burchmore (pictured) said Albanese should be cautious about media appearances Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson called the comments 'disrespectful to all Australian women'. 'They don't want to be spoken about like this by their Prime Minister, and it diminishes the office of the Prime Minister,' he told Today on Tuesday morning.  Paterson welcomed Albanese's apology, but criticised leading Labor figures such as Tanya Plibersek, one of the most senior women's advocates in government, for backing Albanese. 'I can't believe that Tanya Plibersek actually agrees that the Prime Minister behaved appropriately here,' Paterson said. 'If the Prime Minister is saying that he's a fan of Kylie Minogue, I guess that puts him in a group of other Australians, including me... I'm a big fan of Kylie's as well,' Plibersek told Sunrise on Monday, following the backlash.