"Which Pocket You Put Your Phone In" Australian PM in Hot Water Again Over Sexual Joke

Australia's Seven News releases conversation caught on camera
Prime Minister's Office: "They were joking during a break in the meeting"
But this is the third time he has come under fire this year alone.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sparked controversy after it emerged that he made a sexual joke to one of his ministers at an international event, unaware that a microphone was on.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen. EPA-Yonhap News.

On November 14 (local time), foreign media outlets including Australia's Seven News and Agence France-Presse reported that Albanese spoke with Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen during a break at an event on November 13 at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.

At the event, Albanese advised Bowen not to put his cellphone in his breast pocket, explaining that it could "affect your heartbeat." When Bowen replied, "I'm more worried about putting it in my pants pocket," Albanese quipped, "Because of your genitals?" Bowen laughed and said, "Maybe they're more important than my heart."

The two exchanged sexual jokes without realizing that a nearby microphone was on and a camera was recording them. Seven News released the conversation along with video footage, sparking controversy. James Paterson, a member of Australia's opposition, criticized their remarks as "the kind of conversation you'd expect in a locker room" and said that such an exchange between the prime minister and a minister at an international conference could affect Australia's image.

A spokesperson for the Australian Prime Minister's Office told AFP that the prime minister and the minister "were joking around during a break in the meeting." According to The Guardian, Albanese said on November 15, while visiting an Australian Navy ship in the Philippines, "I regret it. I apologize," adding, "I thought it was a private conversation between two friends, joking around casually."

However, this is not the first time Albanese has sparked controversy with a crude joke. In May, he was criticized for making a sexual joke about a fruit gift he received from Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during her visit to Australia for a summit. In a podcast video released in July, the host gestured as if holding a melon in both hands. Albanese made a similar gesture and said, "The melons were really beautiful."

Shingo Yamagami, Japan's former ambassador to Australia, criticized Albanese's crude sexual joke about the melons as "offensive and thoughtless." Later, when asked in the Australian Parliament whether he intended to apologize for the controversy, Albanese sidestepped the question, saying, "Prime Minister Takaichi is a friend of Australia and a friend of mine. I will focus on continuing to work together with her."

That same month, he also apologized after causing an uproar with a remark that he wanted to sleep with a famous Australian female singer.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.