Robert Irwin has shared an apology after accidentally leaving a restaurant in Australia without paying for his meal.
The beloved wildlife conservationist explained the mishap in a video posted on Instagram, in which the 21-year-old said he was embarrassed following the faux pas at the Jetty Pavilion in Coffs Harbour, Australia over the weekend.
In a clip addressed to his 7.6 million Instagram followers and 8.8 million supporters on TikTok, he said: “Hi guys, Robert here. So I have a funny story. I’m road-tripping down the East Coast of Australia at the moment and I stopped in at Coffs Harbour, which is a beautiful coastal town in northern NSW, for a bit of dinner.”
It all sounds like a regular dinner trip so far, right? After placing his order, the young star soon found himself distracted by fans wanting to take pictures with him.
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“I went in there and there was a lot of people who saw me and wanted a photo but it turned into a bit of a frenzy,” Robert recalled.
After talking to his fans and grabbing his food, Rob headed toward his vehicle, forgetting entirely to pay for his meal.
Who knew an unplanned dine-and-dash would make for such a hilarious tale that his legion of fans are now obsessed with?
Although Rob can laugh about his mistake now, he felt awful after realising what had happened.
“They got the salad done super fast and I made sure I said ‘hi’ to absolutely everyone,” he continued. “Then the next morning I wake up and realise, I never paid for my salad. I just did the old dine and dash and didn’t even realise. I felt terrible.”
Before using his social media to tell the hilarious tale, he contacted the restaurant shortly after realising the awkward situation and offered to pay for his meal.
However the restaurant declined, and asked for something else instead.
“They said, 'We love what you do, it’s all good, sorry for the mix-up – just leave us a good review',” he said. “So I said, 'Guys, Jetty Pavilion, I’m going to do you one better'.”
The son of the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin urged his followers to support the restaurant and promised he’d make a return. It sounds like the salad was great, too.
“I’ll be coming back up through Coffs Harbour and I’ll give you the money myself,” he declared. “Today is not the day I start my life of crime, as much as the tabloids would love that, it’s not happening.”
But how do Irwin’s fans feel about this? As it turns out, they love him even more for being such a sweetheart.
“I love this, you’re such a gem,” said one fan in the comments.
“Goodness you are an amazing human Robert. So humble, so real, so relatable,” gushed another supporter.
A third commenter said: “Robert is a gem of a human being. You just helped that place out more than you know!”
Locals also raved about the restaurant, meanwhile others shared a few cheeky jokes about the situation.
“Y’all I can’t wait for the Robert Irwin villain arc,” one said.
Australia’s sweetheart will be paying for his salads for the foreseeable future...
Gregory Robinson