‘DWTS’: Robert Irwin Shares Update After ‘Almost Dying’ in Frightening Medical Emergency

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It was Halloween Night on Dancing With the Stars last week, but Robert Irwin experienced quite the scare during the show’s latest episode.

Irwin and his pro partner, Witney Carson, turned in two memorable performances during the show’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night on Tuesday, November 4. The duo joined forces with Alix Earle and Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten, Andy Richter and Emma Slater, and cohost Julianne Hough for an energetic team dance to “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang.

It was after the group dance that Irwin says he experienced a medical emergency. “I almost died tonight,” he shared in a post-episode interview with Entertainment Tonight. “I choked on a piece of confetti after the team dance. I went over to Witney, and I think they cut away, and I inhaled a piece of confetti. I couldn’t breathe.”

Though Irwin sought help by motioning to Carson that he was unable to breathe, he ultimately coughed the piece of confetti out of his throat. Carson, for her part, told the outlet that she was unaware of her partner’s scary situation.

“I didn’t even know that was happening. I would’ve been a shield, like this with the confetti,” she shared while pretending to block confetti with her arms.

Disney/Christopher Willard

Irwin, Carson, and the rest of the Team Kool members earned nine from judges Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba and 10s from Derek Hough and guest judge Flavor Flav. However, their scores were lower than those of their rival team, as Team Chicago scored all 10s for their team dance to Chicago‘s “25 or 6 to 4.”

Earlier in the episode, Irwin and Carson earned 38 out of 40 points for their powerful paso doble to “Icky Thump” by The White Stripes. “It was so hard. It was the hardest week in rehearsal, honestly. The hardest week,” Irwin told the outlet. “But I reached the turning point when Witney was like — ‘cause I was struggling to get the moves, really struggling — and Witney just goes, ‘You know what? Just get angry with it.’ And I’m like, ‘I’ve never been angry in my life.’ But she said, ‘No, it’s okay. With the moves, just be like, you know what? These are my moves, and I’m just gonna own it.’”

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Irwin even noted that doing the paso doble “felt like I was going in, about to catch a crocodile.” He continued, “It’s that pure respect for the craft, but channeled passion and energy. The amount of trust I feel for Witney is insane. I feel like this little team that we’ve got together has never been stronger, and I’m just so grateful that you trust me to take on a new challenge every week. It’s a dream come true to find new sides to myself.”

With the group dance bonus points added in, Irwin and Carson ended the night in the middle of the leaderboard with 76/80 points. Though the couple avoided elimination, Danielle Fishel and Pasha Pashkov became the latest Season 34 duo to be sent home.

Irwin and Carson will perform a Foxtrot to “Footprints in the Sand” by Leona Lewis during next week’s 20th Birthday Party episode, which will see former host Tom Bergeron return to the series as a guest judge.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+ (Streaming Next Day on Hulu)

For a more extended celebration of two decades of Dancing With the Stars, from exclusive interviews to retrospectives and must-see photos, pick up a copy of TV Guide Magazine’s Dancing With the Stars 20th Anniversary special issue, available for purchase online at DWTS.TVGM2025.com and on newsstands now.