Robert Irwin and his mother Terri have put to rest any speculation that the late Steve Irwin would have ever laced up his dancing shoes for Dancing with the Stars — and they have a tambourine story to prove it.
A red carpet clip from the 2026 Steve Irwin Gala, held in May, has been circulating online just as Robert has stepped into his new role hosting the Dancing with the Stars spinoff Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro. In the footage, a reporter poses the lighthearted question of whether Steve — who died in 2006 at age 44 — would have ever competed on the ballroom competition series. The response from both Robert and Terri was immediate: a laugh, followed by a firm “No.”
Terri Irwin Recalls Steve’s Infamous Tambourine Moment
Terri went further, explaining that Steve likely would have avoided celebrity competition shows of any kind. To illustrate the point, she reached back nearly three decades to a telling anecdote involving Steve and Russell Crowe’s former band, 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts. When Steve was invited onstage with the group in the late 1990s and handed a tambourine, the results apparently made a lasting impression on everyone present.
“Steve got up on stage with him … and they gave him a tambourine, and the whole band still talks about Steve’s complete lack of rhythm,” Terri recalled. Robert backed her up without hesitation: “Only person I’ve seen to just not understand the concept of rhythm.” Terri’s verdict was equally direct: “There was none.”
Robert then turned to his mother and quipped that the musical genetics must have come from her side — a suggestion Terri met with an uncertain “I don’t know.”
Robert’s DWTS Win Adds a Layer of Irony
The exchange carries a certain irony given that Robert went on to win Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars, suggesting the rhythm gene — wherever it originated — skipped a generation in spectacular fashion. A brief glimpse of Steve’s own on-camera movement is available in his 2002 guest appearance on The Wiggles, beginning at the 1:08 mark.
Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC, giving fans every reason to keep watching as Robert continues building his own legacy in the competition world his father almost certainly would have avoided entirely.
