“THE GRIEVING SON WALKS THROUGH”: Robert Irwin EMOTIONALLY REVEALS that Dancing with the Stars OPENED A DOOR he had long avoided, ADMITTING he dedicated his Mirrorball to his father, Steve Irwin, as a LASTING TESTAMENT to their shared mission
Robert Irwin's victory on Dancing with the Stars Season 34 was more than a dance competition win; it was a profound, EMOTIONAL REVEAL of his personal journey through grief. The conservationist and winner, alongside partner Witney Carson, admitted that the intensity of the show "OPENED A DOOR" he had long avoided, allowing him to process the loss of his father, Steve Irwin, publicly and beautifully.
Robert has clearly stated that his entire journey, and the Mirrorball Trophy itself, serves as a LASTING TESTAMENT to their shared mission of wildlife conservation.
Opening the Door to Grief
Robert was only two years old when his father passed away. Throughout his life, he has focused on carrying on Steve’s legacy rather than publicly engaging with his personal grief. DWTS changed that:
Vulnerability on Stage: Robert confessed that the competition required a level of vulnerability he had never accessed before. He stated, “Tonight was healing. This dance was emotional, beautiful, and so deeply meaningful.” He later revealed that the process allowed him to convey "raw emotions that I've never gotten to share before."
The Dedication Dance: His Foxtrot, dedicated to his father, was the climax of this emotional breakthrough. Dancing to the same song his sister Bindi used in her final dance ("Footprints in the Sand"), Robert created a routine that ended with him, Bindi, and Witney looking at an image of Steve holding Robert as a child. This dance, which earned a perfect 40, was the moment he walked through the door of grief he had previously closed.
Mirrorball: A Lasting Testament to Mission
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While the Mirrorball trophy is a symbol of dancing achievement, Robert has reframed its meaning as a symbol of conservation.
Dedication to Mission: Robert explicitly stated his purpose for being on the show: "I carry Dad's legacy with me in everything I do, and it was a privilege to dedicate our Foxtrot to him."
A Family Legacy: He views the trophy as a continuation of his family's work, saying the win—10 years after Bindi's own victory—meant "everything" to him. When he watched Bindi lift the Mirrorball, he said, "I saw her lifting that message," referring to the family's mission at the Australia Zoo and Wildlife Warriors charity.
By winning, Robert has cemented the Mirrorball as a LASTING TESTAMENT that celebrity influence, no matter the medium, can be harnessed for conservation on the front line.
Ellie’s Joke Book Is an Unlikely Lifeline in ‘The Last of Us'
Will Livingstone probably didn't know it when he penned a book full of cringeworthy jokes, but the fictional author's thrown two people a lifeline with it in post-apocalyptic America.
In HBO's adaptation of
Ellie's only reading material at this point in the show (she's a hardcore comic lover in the game) is a joke book, titled No Pun Intended: Volume Too by Will Livingston. ("You
"What did the mermaid wear to her math class? An algae-bra!"
"What did the mermaid wear to her math class?" she continues, giggling and ignoring Joel's unimpressed looks. "An algae-bra!"
"I stayed up all night wondering where the sun went...and then it dawned on me," comes another, which honestly reads like a Mitch Hedberg joke.
As Joel and Ellie make camp, Ellie drops another banger disguised as a "serious question." Ellie slyly poses the thought, "Why did the scarecrow get an award?" When Joel surprisingly answers this one — "Because he was outstanding in his field" — Ellie squeals, calls Joel a dick and accuses him of reading her beloved book. He's heard this one before.
In the game, Ellie's jokes to "lighten the mood" are a form of collectible. If you find them all, the game rewards you with the incredibly named "That's All I Got" trophy. The only way to hear Ellie's jokes in the game is to stand and wait with her between objectives; after a few minutes, Ellie will pull out her joke book out of boredom and rattle off a few zingers.
“I remember in the game being shocked that the game was suddenly offering me this thing that had no benefit for the game at all," director Craig Mazin said on HBO's
"What I also love about it and why it was essential to include in the show is that it undercuts this thing that happens when adults write kids. They either write them too young or too old." Mazin said kids like Ellie fall under another category, a stage of life his friend calls "fuck you, tuck me in."
"They are ready to go out on their own, they want a gun, they want to be in charge, they think they know everything. Also, they’re still children," explained Mazin. "I love how Ellie has this joy for something so juvenile and infantile and stupid — and she knows it’s stupid but she loves it. It's honest joy."
In The Last of Us, humour is the one avenue in which Ellie is allowed to be who she is, a kid, carrying around her joke book in her little backpack right beside her handgun. This contrast between silliness and premature adulthood is one of the strongest elements of Ellie's character that both Ramsey and game voice actor Ashley Johnson seize upon to develop this complex, tough, hilarious teen.
Whether she's messing with Joel through the discovery of a porn magazine in Bill's truck in episode 3 or pretending to be Infected at the most inappropriate time around Joel and Tess in episode 2, Ramsey's Ellie provides welcome chortles in a landscape of near constant stress and threat. As Mashable's Belen Edwards writes, "Thanks for the laugh, Ellie. We really needed it after the show's first three episodes, and based on everything you've been through, we know you need it too." Ramsey's delivery is consistently hilarious in its own right — remember that inappropriately perfect "hehehehehehehehehehehehehe" reading of Bill's letter in episode 3?
Ellie's jokes also play a bigger role than silly asides. Beyond their shared experiences of violence, loss, and grief, Joel and Ellie begin to bond over these ridiculous jokes, with their burgeoning pseudo-father-daughter relationship given a moment to actually be just that. When Joel triumphantly answers the scarecrow joke, we see a glimmer of camaraderie between them, reminding us of Joel's past as a father who constantly joked around with his teen daughter, Sarah (Nico Parker).
This comes up again at the end of episode 4, when Ellie and Joel are hiding for their lives in a Kansas City attic, and Ellie finds it a perfect moment to drop a joke about diarrhoea: "Joel, did you know diarrhoea is hereditary? Yeah, it runs in your jeans." As Mashable's Sam Haysom writes, "The joke about diarrhoea is the first time Ellie properly makes Joel laugh, and seems to mark a key bonding moment in the pair's relationship." In the same episode, Joel organically shares genuine emotion with Ellie for the first time despite his former rules about "keep[ing] our backstories to ourselves," opening up about Tommy in the car, answering Ellie's questions about his worries over his brother. Pascal's superb performance in episode 4 is the first major softening of Joel we've seen, and it's all thanks to these extremely dumb jokes.
Ellie's contrasting modes as a hilarious, joke-loving kid being forced to grow up in a cruel, threatening world makes her a truly compelling protagonist, one a guarded Joel attempts to both understand and protect. In the very same episode, book-ended by scenes showing Ellie making jokes, she shoots a man to save Joel's life. In the same hour, we watch Ellie drop toilet jokes
Livingstone's joke book does more for Ellie than provide light reading, it allows her to create a damn break between the blood for her and Joel (as well as the audience). As Ellie warns Joel, "Just know, you can't escape Will Livingstone. He'll be back. There's nothing you can do to stop him."
