Terri Irwin has playfully poked fun at her son Robert’s now-famous shirtless photoshoot.
The Irwin matriarch, 61, discussed how Robert has continued her late husband Steve’s environmentalism legacy before making the cheeky quip.
“It was a lot of work, it was a lot of grief, there were times of great joy. And to be able to have shared that with him was incredibly special — and carry it on,” Terri told PEOPLE.
“But I will say the one thing that Robert’s got that Steve didn’t — Steve never took his shirt off for wildlife.”
Responding to his mother’s remark, Robert quipped that he simply does “whatever gets the job done”.
“If you have a passion, you really owe it to yourself to give it everything,” he added.
Robert famously went shirtless for a Bonds photoshoot and used the campaign to promote wildlife conservation, posing with snakes and other reptiles in the shots.
Terri made the unexpected remark while attending the 2026 Steve Irwin Gala on May 2 at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
She was joined by Robert for the fundraising event, but her daughter, Bindi, 27, wasn’t in attendance.
Bindi missed the 2025 Gala due to an emergency appendectomy surgery and skipped it again due to her struggles with endometriosis.
“Things like a lot of travel are a bit challenging for her at the moment, and so she’ll be here next year to celebrate this wonderful night,” Terri told E! News at the 2026 event.
However, Terri added that Bindi has been doing “so much better”, adding, “This year she’s just staying a little close to home.”
Bindi publicly revealed her endometriosis diagnosis in March 2023 and has spoken openly about her surgeries and treatments for the disorder since.
Read more about her health here.
