Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has expressed regret over a controversial video, which shows him winking and grinning during a radio chat with a distressed voter who identified herself as a phone sex operator.
In the gaffe, Abbot is seen winking as the caller expresses her concerns regarding a new, controversial government proposal.
Abbott has come under criticizm from voters for his latest budget, in which he proposes to cut health and education spending. Hundreds of Australians have staged protests over the plan.
The Aussie PM appeared on an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio show on Wednesday, to defend his controversial proposal.
And at one point, a woman named "Gloria" called in saying she is a chronically ill 67-year-old grandmother, and that she is unhappy with the new budget as that would mean paying more for medical treatment.
And when the woman says "I work on an adult sex line to make ends meet, now that's the only way I can do it", Abbott is seen winking and grinning.
See the video below:
Abbott admitted on Thursday that the mid-interview wink was a "mistake". However, he defended himself by saying that while engaging with the caller he was "momentarily distracted" by radio host Jon Faine, who was apparently smiling at him.
"Look, I was looking at Jon Faine, he was smiling at me and I winked back at him," he told Today Show, as quoted by news.com.au.
"I shouldn't have done it... I should've been more focused on the caller and less focuses on the interviewer," he said, adding: "Mistakes are always regrettable... and I will do my best having made a mistake yesterday to make none today."
Abbott told another radio station on Wednesday that he was reacting to "an interesting call from someone who had an interesting story", drawing widespread criticism with many calling the PM a "sexist".
Meanwhile, the phone sex operator, whose conversation with Abbott has now gone viral, called ABC radio again and said that the Prime Minister's reaction was "sleazy" and "slimy", the news organization reported.
