Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@robertirwin/Australia Zoo
Topics: Celebrity, Animals, TikTok, Steve Irwin
Jake Massey
Topics: Celebrity, Animals, TikTok, Steve Irwin
It's almost impossible to think of Robert Irwin without thinking of his much-loved dad, Steve - but people reckon it's about time we stopped continually reminding him of his father's passing.
Robert has very much followed in the footsteps of his 'Crocodile Hunter' dad, working as a TV presenter, campaigning for environmental causes and helping to run Australia Zoo.
At just 18 years of age, he has amassed millions of followers on social media, and on TikTok, his clips have been racked up almost 19 million likes and tonnes of comments.
However, people think it might be nice for Robert if we tried to comment on his videos without always mentioning his dad, who was tragically killed by a stringray in 2006.
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TikToker @sa99ymaggie summed it up perfectly in a video, in which she imitated the typical response to one of Robert's videos. Check it out here:
The clip has been viewed 4.6 million times, and in the comments, people agreed with her point.
One person commented: "Facts! Can people just let him live without mentioning his dad every second?!"
Another wrote: "NO SERIOUSLY LIKE 'hi guys i saved a snake today', 'omg remember when your dad tragically died and you were only a child? that sucked!'"
A third added: "As amazing as Steve was, stop mentioning that he's dead. He's just showing off animals, he doesn't need the constant reminders."
And the reminders really are constant, as this collage of comments put together by BuzzFeed shows:
Of course, it's a different story when Robert shares a tribute to his dad - as he did the other day to mark Father's Day.
On TikTok, he shared a touching montage of clips of him and Steve together.
Captioning the post, he wrote: "I had the best dad in the world. Thinking of him and remembering nothing but fun times.
"I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day in the US - sending love to those who couldn't celebrate with their Dad."
Robert also paid tribute to his dad back in February, on what would have been his 60th birthday.
"Happy birthday Dad. Love & miss you every day," he wrote.
"My earliest memories are my fondest thanks to you. Hanging on to the handlebars of the motorbike, on your morning lap of the zoo.
"Every minute with you was a blessing. I'm gonna ride that lap on your old motorbike this afternoon."
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