Shirtless salsas and tributes to Steve: How Robert Irwin became Dancing with the Stars’ hot favourite
“That was so beautiful. It was a poetic, touching tribute that really touched all of us,” said judge Bruno Tonioli. Derek Hough called Robert “this generation’s beacon of hope”, and Carrie Ann Inaba said he was a “beautiful storyteller”. Guest judge Tom Bergeron said he was “doing [his] best to not get choked up” and Robert’s dance was compromising that mission.
Robert and Carson’s foxtrot to Leona Lewis’ Footprints in the Sand was inspired by Bindi and Derek Hough’s freestyle routine to the same song in 2015, which was also dedicated to Steve.
Bindi, then 17, was surprised by Hough with a photo of Steve, which was projected onto the dance floor as the singer crooned, “When you need a friend, you’ll find my footprints in the sand.” She put her hand to her mouth and hugged Hough through tears, and went on to win the series.
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It was a moment made even more powerful by Robert mirroring it a decade later. He performed his foxtrot to the same song, before Bindi came on stage to sway with him.
He then collapsed to the floor, breaking down in tears to a projected montage of shots from the two years he had with his father, as Bindi comforted him.
“Thank you [Bindi] for inspiring us with your freestyle to this song, and thank you [Carson] for once again choreographing such a beautiful story through dance and for creating a space for me to convey raw emotions that I’ve never gotten to share before,” Robert wrote after the performance. “I’m a proud Wildlife Warrior, and I’ll always carry on my dad’s mission. I’m so grateful that I can do that in the ballroom.”
It wasn’t the first time this season that Robert has made it clear the coveted Mirrorball Trophy is firmly in his sights. In October, he dedicated his contemporary routine to Phil Collins’ You’ll Be In My Heart to his mother, Terri Irwin, who also joined him on the dance floor.
But before you think Robert is just a one-trick pony, relying on his family’s legacy, he’s also leant into his post-Bonds ad sex appeal by ripping his shirt off mid-salsa.
There is no cash prize for contestants who win the competition, although, per Variety, they are paid up to $US295,000 ($450,000) if they make it to the season’s end. Robert and Carson are through to next week’s Prince-themed semi-finals. But, should the impossible happen and Robert not secure a poetic victory 10 years after his sister’s, that might not matter.
Keen American tourists hoping for their own Chandler Powell stroke of luck – where Bindi’s now-husband first met her at Australia Zoo – will no doubt happily find themselves en route to the Sunshine Coast. That’s a win for the family and, ultimately, the zoo’s coffers.
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