Some fans are disappointed that the 21-year-old Aussie took home the Mirrorball Trophy and some have claimed they know why he scored so many votes.
Robert Irwin and Witney Carson have won Dancing With The Stars after a nail-biting grand finale. Picture: Instagram/Witney Carson/Disney+
Robert Irwin has written himself into the history books after winning the American version of Dancing With The Stars. But within seconds of his record-breaking win, the Aussie wildlife warrior was hit with a rogue accusation.
People flocked to social media to claim that the competition was rigged in Robert’s favour because he had a large Australian following who could tip the scales in his favour. But, there’s a big problem with that claim.
Australians can’t vote.
Yahoo Lifestyle has confirmed the official rules dictate that you must be older than 18 and “physically located in the United States (including its territories) or Canada” to cast a vote.
“SMS voting is only available to viewers located in the US and its territories with a participating wireless carrier and is not available to viewers in Canada,” the official website states.
Aussies couldn’t even watch the grand finale on their TVs because it was broadcast on Disney+ and geoblocked for anyone outside of North America.
This is the message that greets Aussies if they tried to vote from Australia. Picture: ABC/Disney
Funnily enough, some have gone far enough to claim they would never watch the reality TV dancing show again because of the “rigged” results.
“It was going to be Robert from day one,” said one viewer.
“No hate to him but I mean come on. He has all the Aussie votes and is internationally loved plus the constant emotional stories of his dad and bringing his sister in. It wasn’t going to be any other winner.”
“BROOOOOOOO RIGGED,” added another.
“Robert was set up to win from the start bruh,” wrote a third.
“Double check the votes because what,” another disgruntled viewer demanded.
But some Aussies hit back at the allegations.
“Robert on DWTS is not a big deal in Australia. I think most Americans would be surprised to know they are far more enthralled with the Irwins than Australians are,” said one person.
“As someone in Australia, I haven’t heard a single person talk about DWTS. The people I have mentioned it to didn’t even know Robert was on,” added another.
Robert Irwin secures most amount of fan votes in DWTS history
Just before Robert was announced as the winner, the show revealed that a record-breaking number of votes were cast for this season.
A whopping 72 million ballots were sent in, which was more than double the previous record.
Robert and Witney were told that they had secured the most votes out of any contestant in the show’s 34 seasons.
did my duty, because there is NOBODY like robert irwin #dwts pic.twitter.com/ZLD68xPDfD
— hal ✨ (@authentichal) November 26, 2025
Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy came in second place in the nail-biting finale despite scoring perfect 90 out of 90 from the judges.
Robert’s win comes 10 years after his sister Bindi won the same US competition, making them the first sibling duo to walk away with the Mirrorball Trophy.
View this post on Instagram
“My sister said it best, thank you for changing my life,” Robert said after he was revealed to be the winner.
The biggest difference between the US and Australian versions of the reality show — besides the budget and ratings — is that the Aussie contestants compete on behalf of a charity.
The winner receives $10,000, which they donate to their chosen charity or organisation.
While some people were salty about Robert’s win, plenty more were thrilled that he won.
“I absolutely sobbed because of how proud I am of both Robert and Witney. Robert is the most deserving person from the season to win this,” wrote one fan.
“I cried so hard, tears of joy, I knew it was gonna happen. I just knew that with the talent, passion, and huge heart that Robert has, there was no doubt another Mirrorball would make its way to Australia!!” added another.
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