The one thing complaining Americans don’t get about Robert Irwin
Mere moments after Aussie Robert Irwin won the DWTS grand final, social media lit up with nasty comments from viewers all saying the same thing.
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Robert Irwin won hearts around the globe during his stint on US Dancing with the Stars. But as he fought through floods of tears accepting his mirrorball trophy in the grand final, there was one thing that the local American audience kept coming back to: How often the 21-year-old Wildlife Warrior spoke about his late father, Steve Irwin.
No, not in a “oh that’s so sad, I’m sure his dad would be proud” kind of way. But rather in a “here we go again” tone.
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Following his standout grand final performance, which saw him battle through a painful rib injury during his three dances, social media lit up with some nasty digs.
It began with this one comment on X:
“ABC: Robert Irwin we’d love to have you on this season of DWTS!
Robert: Awesome, mate!
ABC: We’re gonna bring up your dad being dead.
Robert: Like at the beginning? The intro?
ABC: All the time. Literally the whole time.”
Look, they’re not wrong. Steve WAS mentioned a lot during the series and they did capitalise a little on the Irwin name, with mum Terri and sister Bindi (who won the series back in 2015) each featuring in separate tribute performances.
The even projected giant photos of the beloved late Aussie icon across the dancefloor at one point.
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So it shouldn’t come as a real surprise when others agreed online.
“@officialdwts was sure if Robert cried every week it would help him. It got old real quick,” one person commented.
“Over and over and over and over,” another agreed.
Another wrote: “Like they need to let the kid be a damn autonomous individual at this point dude. He’s evidently a brilliant guy as was his father, but having every achievement cast under the lens of ‘your father would’ve been proud’ eventually just shifts the focus from Robert entirely.”
And the hate kept coming.
“This guy rode the sympathy vote all the way to the finale!! We get it … your dad died!! So f***ing sick of these people!
Yeah, nah, mate! Aussies aren’t having any of that smack talk.
Regardless of whose “suggestion” it might’ve been to bring up his late father, I think we need to have a little lesson in Irwin history.
Sit down, I won’t take long.
Steve Irwin, affectionately known as Australia’s Crocodile Hunter, tragically died at the age of 44 after a stingray fatally struck him in the chest while filming a documentary on The Great Barrier Reef.
His wife and children were taking some time out in Tasmania while dad was working.
Robert was just two years old when he lost his father. Bindi was eight.
Barely out of nappies and unable to fully understand where his dad went, Robert has very few memories of his father because of his young age at his passing.
His mum and sister were thrust into the spotlight at a time when they were mourning a great loss. The only thing they could really do was push forward and honour his legacy of animal conservation and keep his big baby Australia Zoo running as he would have wanted.
During an appearance on The Viall Files podcast Robert expressed the importance of vulnerability and grieving unapologetically.
“There’s no grief journey that’s easy and there’s no grief journey that’s the same as the other. But for me to be able to celebrate my dad, to celebrate the person he is, to continue what he loved is the honour of a lifetime … I do that with such pride,” he said, tearfully.
“I really hope what we all do with a platform is to try and say it’s okay. It’s okay when life’s hard. It’s okay to be vulnerable. And it’s okay sometimes for some days to just be too much. And to just try and keep that light in your heart, try and find the people that lift you up and just lift each other up.”
Together, the mighty trio of Terri, Robert and Bindi, have kept going with Steve’s message. It makes plenty of us Aussies damn proud.
So why shouldn’t Robert be able to shed a tear for the years lost? For the memories he was unable to retain?
“Robert Irwin hate? How miserable of a person do you have to be? That family feels the loss of Steve Irwin every day,” someone commented on X.
“Nothing wrong with that grief is his story and taking over his dad legacy. Grief is my story and I can tell it as much as I want!” another defended the khaki-clad dancer.
“He has no real memories of him except for little moments that serve as a little reminder,” another sympathised.
Another chimed in with: “still the saddest celebrity death of my lifetime” while another insisted: “the Irwin legacy lives on through the kids.”
And that’s the point right there, folks.
Truth is, the Irwins will always talk about their dad.
Steve’s legacy lives on in his children. They see it as their duty to honour the memories they have left of him by passing on his greatness, enthusiasm and hard work to others.
They want the world to remember him, even if there are parts that they don’t remember themselves.
And if there is a problem with children talking about a parent they miss or crying during milestones in their lives that they wished they were there for (such as winning DWTS), then I’m sorry, that’s a you problem, mate.
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Originally published as The one thing complaining Americans don’t get about Robert Irwin
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