![\"DWTS](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025.11.12-31.jpg\")
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It was a night filled with nostalgia and emotion on \u201cDancing with the Stars.\u201d During the show\u2019s 20th Birthday Party celebration, Derek Hough was visibly holding back tears after\u00a0Robert Irwin\u00a0and partner Witney Carson delivered a deeply personal performance in honor of the\u00a0Irwin family legacy.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the relay round, Robert and Witney earned the season\u2019s first perfect individual score, performing a Foxtrot to\u00a0\u201cFootprints in the Sand\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0by Leona Lewis \u2014 the same song Robert\u2019s sister, Bindi Irwin, danced to during her winning season as a tribute to their late father, Steve Irwin.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a lot of weight,\u201d Robert admitted before the dance. \u201cI really want it to be our best dance yet, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n As the performance ended with a photo of the Irwin parents projected on the ballroom floor, Robert broke down in tears, joined by Bindi for a heartfelt embrace.<\/p>\n Hough, who partnered with Bindi during her winning season, said he felt \u201chonored\u201d to be part of the Irwin family\u2019s story once again.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel honored to be tangled in the Irwin story,\u201d Hough said. \u201cRobert is this generation\u2019s beacon of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n The touching performance\u00a0moved the entire ballroom.<\/strong><\/p>\n Guest judge Tom Bergeron admitted he was \u201cannoyed\u201d because he was trying not to get choked up, recalling that the last time he saw Robert, the young conservationist was just 11 years old, watching his sister dance.<\/p>\n Before the show, Robert received a royal surprise. While rehearsing, he got a video call from Prince William, who joked that they missed him at the Earthshot Prize ceremony in Brazil.<\/p>\n Robert explained, \u201cI was supposed to be in Brazil for the Earthshot Prize, but I told him I\u2019m still here in the competition.\u201d The royal affectionately called him \u201ctwinkle toes\u201d and wished him luck before hanging up. \u201cI can\u2019t believe he just said my name,\u201d Witney said, laughing, while Robert added, \u201cLet\u2019s not mess this up!\u201d<\/p>\n Their dance clearly impressed everyone \u2014 even the judges. Bruno Tonioli called it \u201cthe royal seal of approval,\u201d while Carrie Ann Inaba praised it as \u201cso powerful and profound.\u201d<\/p>\n Robert and Witney earned a perfect 40 out of 40 for their touching performance, marking one of the season\u2019s biggest moments.<\/p>\n The night also doubled as \u201cDancing with the Stars\u2019\u201d 20th anniversary celebration, featuring former host Tom Bergeron and six original pros from season 1 in a special opening number choreographed by Derek Hough.<\/p>\n The evening also included a moving tribute from pros Ezra Sosa and Rylee Arnold, who performed to \u201cAlways Remember Us This Way\u201d by Lady Gaga in honor of former DWTS family members who have passed away.<\/p>\n With just two weeks left in season 34, including next week\u2019s Prince Night semifinals and the three-hour finale on Nov. 25, the competition is tighter than ever. Still, for many fans, Robert Irwin\u2019s emotional dance will be remembered as one of the most powerful performances of the season.<\/p>\n Bobby Bones<\/strong>\u00a0says he returned his\u00a0Dancing With the Stars\u00a0<\/em>mirrorball trophy after being slighted by the show\u2019s former host,\u00a0<\/p>\n Bones, 45, revealed the news to his\u00a0TikTok\u00a0followers on Wednesday, November 12, saying he was hurt by comments that Bergeron, 70, made to\u00a0Parade<\/em>\u00a0earlier this week. The ABC dance competition\u2019s ex-emcee told the outlet that he felt \u201cshocked\u201d by Bones\u2019 2018 victory and said it \u201cwas the\u00a0the first time it was like, \u2018Ouch.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The day after the outlet published the story, Bones aired his vulnerable reaction on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cI try not to get my feelings hurt, especially about stuff like this, but this was hurtful,\u201d Bones said Wednesday. \u201cAnd not because of what was said, but really who said it.\u201d<\/p>\n The radio personality said that he likes and admires Bergeron, but felt he was taking a cheap shot at him.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t even wanna be on the show,\u201d Bones recalled. \u201cI had no intention of being on\u00a0<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cLike, it\u2019s crazy the amount of hate I get, even from people I respect like Tom Bergeron\u201d and\u00a0<\/p>\n Bones said he feels \u201clike a sixth grader and all the ninth-grade\u00a0Dancing<\/em> kids are shoving me in lockers.\u201d<\/p>\n With exasperation, he pondered:\u00a0\u201cLike, what did I do? I had a great attitude. I worked hard, and here we are, like six years later, I\u2019m still catching strays out of nowhere. So, I sent the trophy back. They don\u2019t want me to be a part of the show, obviously. So I don\u2019t wanna be somewhere that doesn\u2019t want me to be there.\u201d<\/p>\n He repeated, \u201cSo I sent the trophy back to ABC. I no longer have the Mirrorball trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n While he had \u201cloved\u201d being on the show, he confessed that the ongoing negative commentary by members of the\u00a0<\/p>\n Bones remembered having \u201csuch a great, joyous time. Even though I was the only one in the whole crew that was dancing that had a full-time job at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n Bergeron has since apologized to Bones. On Wednesday, he took to his\u00a0Instagram Stories\u00a0and shared a screenshot of a direct message that he sent to the slighted winner.<\/p>\n \u201cBobby, it wasn\u2019t my intention to hurt your feelings,\u201d Bergeron said. \u201cMy \u2018ouch\u2019 was based on my honest feeling that your win spoke to a need to address the balance between judge and viewer voting.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cI always felt bad that you &\u00a0Sharna<\/strong>\u00a0[Burgess<\/strong>] had to deal with the aftermath of that win & I certainly regret pouring any salt into that old wound.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was a night filled with nostalgia and emotion on \u201cDancing with the Stars.\u201d During the show\u2019s 20th Birthday Party celebration, Derek Hough was visibly holding back tears after\u00a0Robert Irwin\u00a0and partner Witney…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6887,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t