Irwin family meltdown
Just days before paying tribute to Steve, the wildlife warriors were at each other’s throats
Despite their grinning thumbs-up photo ops, it’s not always fun and games for the Irwins. Woman’s Day’s exclusive pics show Terri, Robert, 14, Bindi and her boyfriend Chandler, 21, embroiled in what appears to be a family feud at Australia Zoo. The tense altercation came days before a wave of appearances to promote patriarch Steve’s posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 26.
“The Irwins might be seen as a perfectly harmonious unit,” says an insider with knowledge of the inner workings at the zoo. “But like anyone else, they have their barneys over minor things. Terri and Bindi particularly clash because they’re both such strong women with their own opinions on how to run the business.” Onlookers say it was mainly Bindi, 19, and Terri, 53, butting heads at their public squabble in the parking lot last week. “They looked to be having a few cross words with each other, and Robert and Chandler seemed as though they were trying to stay out of it,” says an onlooker. Adds our family insider, “The boys very much play second fiddle to Terri and Bindi – their mum is the brains and Bindi is the star of the show.
“Bindi gets frustrated when Terri doesn’t listen to her big ideas – just like any mother and daughter. But this was the worst possible time for them to be fighting because it should have been a happy time for them ahead of Steve’s star unveiling.
“It sounds like Terri was feeling the pressure of making it a tribute fitting for Steve, who never liked the glitzy side of Hollywood, while Bindi was looking to make it a star-studded photocall,” the family friend says.
“They’re always consummate professionals for their public appearances, of course, but even the Irwins have arguments!”