Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has apologised for saying he would choose to “shag” pop star Kylie Minogue over other female Australian celebrities.

“I apologise unequivocally for the comments,” he said on Monday morning, ahead of his departure for a Pacific Islands trip.

It follows a barrage of criticism after Albanese took part in a game of “shag, marry, date” on Nova’s Bush Deep podcast, which was filmed at The Lodge.

The recently married Albanese was interviewed by host Nikki Osborne, who asked him to choose which celebrity he would sleep with, date or marry — Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman or Rhonda Burchmore.

Albanese initially responded diplomatically.

“I’ve just got married, I’m only six months in,” he said.

Osborne persisted: “But if it goes tits up? Just pretend.” 

He responded: “Kylie, clearly”.

“You’d marry Kylie, and shag her, and date her?” Osborne said.

“All of the above,” he said, adding “she’s terrific”.

At one point Osborne noted that Albanese and wife Jodie Haydon were “still in the honeymoon period, bonking like rabbits”.

Albanese responded, “Well, when we have time.”

Osborne: “Yeah, that’s fair. That’s what happens when you get married. Have to schedule it, don’t you?”

Albanese: “After the footy. It’s always a good aphrodisiac, a Souths win.”

Female politicians criticised Albanese for taking part in the game, insisting he should have politely declined.

Warringah MP Zali Steggall told News Corp it was “entirely inappropriate for the Prime Minister to participate in such a game”.

“He needs to learn to push back, lead by example and call it out as sexist,” she said.

The Coalition’s communications spokesperson Senator Sarah Henderson said Albanese had “got into the gutter with his grubby remarks”. She said the Prime Minister had shown “extremely poor judgment”.

“Mr Albanese’s crude locker room talk makes a mockery of Labor’s claim to be champions of women. How low can this Prime Minister go?” she said.

“Australians deserve better than this.”

But Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles defended Albanese’s record on policies for women, while also saying the podcast appearance was different to standard political interviews.

“The government that the Prime Minister leads is the first government in the nation’s history which has had an equality in terms of the numbers of men and women in cabinet,” he told ABC Radio.

“Our Prime Minister is utterly committed to the place of women within our society and the elevation of women within our society, and I think that’s the serious point to observe about the government that he leads.”

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek also defended Albanese’s record on women.

“If what the Prime Minister’s saying is that he’s a fan of Kylie Minogue, I guess that puts him in [with] other Australians, including me, including me. I’m a big fan of Kylie’s as well,” she told Seven’s Sunrise program.

But One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said the comments were beneath the office of the prime minister.

“I’d like to break into the regular broadcasting for a special mention from the Prime Minister of Commonwealth of Australia: People Anthony would like to have sex with. Yeah, I think it’s a little bit below,” he said.

“He doesn’t need to play a stupid game. … I would have avoided the question, like most people.”

Opposition frontbencher Andrew Bragg also criticised the comments.

“These comments were beneath his office. I don’t think he should have said them. It’s good that he’s apologised, but he shouldn’t have said it in the first place,” he said.

-with AAP