The Irwins are hardly the type to battle it out publicly, but for years the family have been at quietly a loggerheads, it was revealed over the weekend.
In a sweet Father’s Day post Bindi shared, she thanked Steve, her own husband Chandler, and her father-in-law.
One fan took to the comments to asks Irwin why she left her grandfather Bob out of the tribute and the young celebrity unleashed.
“Unfortunately my grandfather Bob has shown no interest in spending time with me or my family,” she wrote.
“He has never said a single kind word to me personally. It breaks my heart but it is not healthy to engage in an abusive relationship … I have struggled with this relationship my entire life and it brings me enormous pain.”
A family member of the family took to Facebook to angrily dispute Bindi’s claims made about her grandfather Bob.
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Bethanny Wheeler explained that she is the “the granddaughter of Bob Irwin via marriage of my father and my Stepmother Mandy as a very young child,”.
She called Bob “the most genuinely beautiful human on this planet and has NEVER spoken out or put down anybody!
“He is a man who sits silently and battles his demons alone, in what is great sadness. He doesn’t retaliate, only prays for his grandchildren’s safety and good lives.”
Wheeler wrote that her “sisters and brothers will happily back me up when I say that Bob Irwin is a passive and beautiful human, and these lies need to stop.”
Bob Irwin’s biographer also said he was “devastated” by Bindi’s claims of abuse.
Amanda French, who co-wrote Bob’s 2016 autobiography The Last Crocodile Hunter, slammed Bindi.
“To write that there is psychological abuse from the kindest, most beautiful soul I have ever met, is heartbreaking,” she wrote.
She went on to say Bob has been “devastated to his core.”
“Unbeknownst to you, and what you know, he is suffering deeply for the loss of his family … He has done all he knows how to do and that is bury his head in the sand because that’s how he copes,” she continued.
“He’s not someone who is out there about reaching out and communicating, he’s like your Dad was. An introvert and not someone who can navigate people well.
“He loves your Dad, and you guys more than you know. This should be a private matter not written about on Facebook.”
Entertainment Reporter Peter Ford told Sunrise on Monday that after speaking to Bob’s wife Judy over the weekend, he could confirm they were blown away by Bindi’s comments.
“They were pretty shellshocked by it and when I rang and read to his wife Judy the details, they’re not on social media, so they were not aware of what was going on at all, I think they were pretty shocked and devastated,” the reporter said.
“That’s just the feeling I got. They didn’t say that to me and they did not come back and offer any kind of reply or response.”
Steve and his father were incredible close, once labelling him: “the legend of the universe.”
Steve told the ABC’s Enough Rope in 2003: “He was everything I wanted to be. And all I’ve done in my life is follow in his footsteps, mimic him and try to be him. And nowadays I just try to make him proud.”
Steve was killed in a 2006 freak accident, right after the father and his son wrapped up their month-long in Cape York,
“You never expect that’s the last time you’re ever going to see your son, but I certainly had a feeling he sensed something was about to happen,” Bob said after the accident.
Steve died after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while he was filming on the Great Barrier Reef.
When Bob released his autobiography in 2016, he said that “when the world lost Steve, the animals lost the best friend they ever had, and so did I.”
“What he stood for and what he was able to achieve means just as much now as when he was here in the physical world.”
Bindi insists that she and her family want the best for Bob.
“We built him a house on a beautiful property and will always do our best to ensure his wellbeing,” she wrote.
