Robert Irwin danced on another day, but the experience of this week's episode of "Dancing With the Stars" was a near-death one. During a group dance number on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame episode, he almost met his end. "I almost died tonight," Robert shared with Entertainment Tonight in a joint interview with his dance partner, Witney Carson, after the Nov. 4 episode. "I choked on a piece of confetti after the team dance."
The 21-year-old wildlife conservationist's words were no exaggeration. "I went over to Witney," he continued. "I inhaled a piece of confetti and couldn't breathe." However, he was able to dislodge the confetti on his own while signaling to her that he was choking. As soon as he reached Witney, he let out a cough and the confetti "popped out."
Adding to the chaotic situation, Witney was completely unaware of Robert's panic. "I didn't even know that was happening," she said. "I would have been his shield."
Luckily, the rest of the show went off without a hitch for Robert and Witney, as they tied for the highest score of the night after dancing a Paso Doble set to The White Stripes' song "Icky Thump."
Despite the scoreboard, Robert has one goal in mind: to keep spreading passion and positivity with America. "What I want more than anything else is to keep spreading passion and positivity with America," he told Good Morning America after this week's performance. "That's what I wanted to do coming into this."
"Every week, the fact that all of you guys want to have us back means the world," he continued. "It means so much to my message, to what I'm all about, that we as a team try to create. We want to tell important stories through dance."
Robert wants to continue telling "the stories of grief and loss" and "the stories of people that lift you up throughout your life," as well as "the stories of fun and joy" all the way to the finale. As he said, "I really, really hope we can do that all the way to the end. That’s the goal. 100 percent."
