Robert Irwin, who recently stunned viewers with his high-energy dance performance on Dancing With The Stars (DTWS), has shared what his late father, Steve Irwin, would have thought of his stellar debut. On September 16, the Australian conservationist performed a high-energy Jive to Steppenwolf’s track “Born to Be Wild” with his dance partner Witney Carson on the premiere episode of DTWS season 34.
After the performance, Robert’s mother, Terri, posted a clip on her Instagram account from a chat Robert had with Access Hollywood. When host Kit Hoover asked, “What would your dad say about seeing you on Dancing With The Stars?”, Robert smiled and replied that Steve “would definitely be looking down proudly on his talented son.”
“Mate, I think he’d be stoked,” the wildlife photographer said. “He was the sort of person where he just never held back.” Robert added that his father was “passionate and enthusiastic about every single thing he did.”
In the video, Robert shared that by participating in the dance show, he was paying tribute to his father’s legacy and zest for life. “He loved life when he was just living on the edge and giving it 100, and that is what this experience is,” he said. “I have the honour of continuing his legacy—my family’s legacy—and I never thought I’d get to do that by dancing, but here we are and I’m just so grateful for that.”
For those unfamiliar with the story, Robert’s father, Steve, passed away on September 4, 2006.
