Prime Minister Anthony Albanese showed off his musical skills on the ABC game show Spicks and Specks, where he imitated Peter Garrett and made a cheeky joke about Dolly Parton’s famous anatomy.
However, the decision to appear on the light-hearted music trivia show divided reaction from viewers on social media, with some claiming it was a turn-off, while others called the Prime Minister “a natural talent”.
Albanese, who is a keen follower of Australian rock and pop music, was introduced by Spicks and Specks host Adam Hills as “a DJ who also spends time running the country”.
One of the questions concerned Australian band Midnight Oil, fronted by Peter Garrett, who was elected Labor MP for the Sydney seat of Kingsford Smith in 2004 and served with Albanese as a minister in the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments.
Albanese revealed that it could be a distraction to have Garrett as a ministerial colleague because “sometimes when Peter talked to you, he did it with his hands and that was a little strange.”
While reminiscing about the anecdote, Albanese did an impression of Garrett that mirrored the signature dance style employed by the Oils frontman.
At another point, Albanese made a joke about American country icon Dolly Parton and her two enormous tour buses, following a joke made by Hills about a motorist who spotted the famous busty singer’s motorcade with the warning “big load ahead.” “.
“I had to ride in them, they were quite spectacular,” the Prime Minister said of the vehicles to raucous laughter.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appears on ABC’s musical trivia game show Spicks and Specks (pictured right with Myf Warhurst)
Albanese revealed he was Transport Minister at the time Parton, who hates flying, brought her tour buses with her even though they were too wide by Australian vehicle standards.
“The bureaucrats said you can’t do it… (but) can’t you just put one of those vans in front with a sign that says ‘Big Bus is Coming’?” Mr. Albanese said.
Parton thanked Mr. Albanese by name during an onstage appearance and said she would like to “smear lip gloss on him.”
“What goes on tour, stays on tour,” Albanese joked when asked if this had happened.
Albanese, who was on a team with regular Myf Warhurst and Australian singer-songwriter Ben Lee, also seemed a little taken aback by one of the indie music star’s comments.
“But we’re having fun and we’re very high,” Lee said, which Albanese initially laughed at before a more concerned look appeared on his face.
At one point, Albanese did an imitation of Peter Garrett’s conversational style that also mimicked the Midnight Oil singer’s signature choppy dance style.
The Prime Minister mocked his former colleague Peter Garrett’s choppy dance moves
He also refused to repeat Warhurst’s slogan to start the proceedings: “I play with moles.”
“One of the downsides to my job is that you can do things and they’re completely out of context,” he explained.
“It’s a pretty risky proposition for me to be here.”
At the beginning of the show Mr. Albanese was asked if he was there to win.
“You can’t be prime minister without being a bit competitive,” he told Hills.
As it turned out, the Prime Minister’s team triumphed 19-18 against regular Alan Brough, who teamed up with guests Astrid Jorgensen and Zoe Coombs.
Albanese tweeted that he was “thrilled to be on one of my favorite shows” and “had a great time” on Spicks and Specks.
Others at X weren’t as excited to see Albanese on ABC primetime Sunday night.
“I just sat down to watch Spicks and Specks on a Sunday night,” one person fumed.
‘The sight of the guest walking away is enough to return to #TheBlock’
Albanese and Midnight Oil leader Peter Garrett (pictured right) were ministerial colleagues during the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments.
Another tweeted: ‘As if the Spicks & Specks rerun wasn’t already embarrassing enough, it’s now the transparent Trojan horse for Albo’s good guy marketing. Vomit,” said another.
A third wrote: ‘Spicks and Specks has been boring for 10 years. @AlboMP just destroyed that. Never again,” wrote another.
Some onlookers were even more brutal.
‘Just saw the AlboMP ad on Spicks & Specks. Who thought it was a good idea? Reeks of a government that has jumped the shark,” one tweet read.
Another disgruntled voter wrote: “Wow, instead of helping Australians struggling with the cost of living, you instead use our money to do little things in the disgusting ABC GONE NEXT ELECTION.”
‘It’s disgraceful that the Prime Minister is on Spicks and Specks during a cost of living crisis! Shameful!’ said another.
However, there were some grateful viewers.
‘Anthony Albanese on Spicks and Specks. How natural, can you imagine Dutton on a music and game show? one viewer wrote.
Another added: ‘This #Spicks & Specks is so much fun. Great teams, lots of laughs, Russell Crowe is a muso with a lot of power in the Rabbitohs; Dolly Parton has big buses and Ben Lee is just hilarious.
‘Albo knows all the answers (typical!). Don’t worry, they won’t forgive him.