Robert Irwin is facing a wave of online backlash after footage of a tense moment inside a crocodile enclosure aired on national television, with some viewers calling for him to be canceled and others rushing to his defense.
The controversial clip aired during a segment on Today, where Robert and his mother Terri were promoting the reopening of Australia Zoo and the new season of Crikey! It’s the Irwins.
During the appearance, footage showed Robert inside an enclosure with a crocodile named Casper. The reptile charged at Robert, who could be heard shouting “Bail, bail, bail!” as other keepers rushed in to help.
The moment was over quickly but the footage spread rapidly online.
The backlash grew to critique zoo’s
Critics were quick to pile on, with some questioning whether the Irwins were putting animals and people at risk for entertainment.
“When will they learn? This is sad. For a show, was it worth it?” one viewer wrote.
“This is just wrong. Make Robert STOP!!!” added another.
Others called for the practice to be banned entirely, arguing that wild animals should not be held in zoos at all.
Robert’s response to the backlash
Robert downplayed the danger in a post on Instagram, framing the moment as an example of why safety training matters.
“Safety for us is also crucial and you definitely have to know when to call it,” he wrote.
“And with such a powerful and quick croc like Casper, we had no choice but to bail!”
Many fans, however, were unimpressed by the backlash and came out strongly in Robert’s defense, pointing out that the crocodile had gone through similar routines hundreds of times without incident and that the Irwin family’s conservation work speaks for itself.
“People need to chill out and leave this guy alone,” one supporter wrote.
“Do people realize the croc has gone through this routine hundreds of times and it’s not been a problem before?”
Robert, 21, lost his father Steve Irwin at just two years old and has spent his life continuing the family’s conservation legacy at Australia Zoo. He recently paid tribute to his father by posting a side-by-side video of the two of them feeding the same crocodiles 19 years apart.
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