As if Bindi Irwin hasn’t already been through enough by losing her father at a young age, a Los Angeles judge is about to make the young animal-rights advocate relive the emotional trauma. Because Irwin is underage, lawyers for Dancing with the Stars — which she is currently competing in the show’s 21st season — were required to submit a minor’s contract to a Los Angeles Superior Court judge stating that Irwin’s mother Terri gives up all rights to the money her daughter will make on the show.
However, according the TMZ, that judge also wants that same release from Irwin’s father, the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, who we all know passed away in 2006 in a freak accident involving a stingray. Without the release, the judge is stating that “the court is unable to find that it is in the best interest of the minor to be bound by the terms of the contract.” In other words, Bindi won’t get any of her Dancing with the Stars money until she proves her father’s death, which I am pretty freaking sure is not in “the best interests of the minor.”
Bindi has currently made it through week eight of the season, which means that she has so far earned $230,000. Lawyers for the show are going to “do what it takes” to get the contract pushed through so Irwin can claim her winnings, but it’s pretty damn egregious that she should have to be put in this position in the first place.
(Via TMZ)
