Steve Irwin’s son Robert Irwin threatens ‘legal action’ over Australian politician’s ‘defamatory’ cartoon-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

Robert Irwin has threatened to sue after appearing in a cartoon series (Pictures: Robert Irwin Photography/ Please Explain)

Robert Irwin has threatened to sue a controversial Australian politician for defamation after he was ‘mocked’ in a cartoon.

The son of late ‘Crocodile Hunter’ Steve Irwin, Robert has followed in his father’s footsteps as a wildlife warrior and TV presenter, most recently co-hosting the Australian version of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

Last week One Nation political party leader and Senator for Queensland Pauline Hanson released the latest episode of her Please Explain cartoon series, which ‘delivers a humorous yet sobering glimpse into the Australian political arena’.

The episode mocks the Queensland’s issues with housing, youth crime and health care and depicts Irwin attempting to show beloved children’s cartoon character Bluey the best of the state which came after they were unveiled as the faces of a new tourism campaign.

In one scene, the cartoon pair mistake a long queue for a rental property for a line at theme park Movie World.

Cartoon Bluey is also ‘bashed’ by juvenile delinquents while cartoon Irwin is told there is a six-month wait for hospital care.

The son of Steve Irwin is now a TV presenter too (Picture: Jono Searle/ Epa-Efe/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

It ends with cartoon Irwin saying: ‘I can’t believe this is the state of Queensland.’

However just hours after it was released, a cease-and-desist letter was sent by FC Lawyers, acting on behalf of Irwin, to StepMates Studios, the production team behind the series.

In the letter, lawyer Zoe Naylor claims the cartoon is defamatory and involves the ‘unauthorised and deceptive use of our client’s image’, as reported by News.com.au.

It then calls for the cartoon to be removed and the studio to immediately stop using Irwin’s image without prior approval, saying legal action will be commenced if the video is not taken down.

He appeared in the latest episode of Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain cartoon series (Picture: Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain)

His lawyers have now issued a legal notice and called for it to be taken down (Picture: Pauline Hanson’s Please Explain)

StepMates Studios has been given until 5pm Monday to remove the video before Irwin’s lawyers potentially take further action through the District and Federal Courts.

Firing back, Hanson has told Irwin to ‘lighten up’ and said One Nation intended to fight the legal notice.

‘How is he going to argue defamation? It’s not about him it’s about the issues in Queensland,’ she said, as reported by the Daily Mail.

She also implied that he should be thankful to get make an appearance on her web series.

‘I’ve got members of parliament asking me when they get to be in the cartoon, we have people pay to get in it, so I’ve given him a free kick,’ she said.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson told him to ‘lighten up’ (Picture: Dan Himbrechts/ Epa-Efe/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

‘And [Irwin] wants to sue me over it.’

Hanson is the founder and leader of One Nation, a right-wing populist political party.

Since being elected to Parliament in 1996 she has repeatedly denied accusations of racism after being slammed for her comments and policies related to race, immigration and Islam.

The name of her series is taken from an infamous interview from 1996 when she was asked in a 60 Minutes interview whether she was xenophobic, to which she replied: ‘Please explain?’

Metro.co.uk has contacted representatives for Robert Irwin and Pauline Hanson for comment.

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