Dancing with the Stars Season 34 ended with Robert Irwin and Witney Carson clinching the Mirrorball Trophy after a dazzling finale on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
The judges’ scores and a record-breaking 72 million viewer votes decided the winner.
Multiple media reports highlight that Robert bagged more votes than any other contestant ever in the history of Dancing with the Stars.
The DWTS finale featured five couples, with each performing a set of three dances—Judges’ Choice, Instant Dance, and Freestyle—before the crown for the Mirrorball Trophy was awarded.
After the win, an emotional Irwin credited her sister, quoting, “My sister said it best, ‘thank you for changing my life!’”
Her partner, Carson, added, “I’m grateful for Robert.”
The cast and the troupe then lifted the jubilant trophy-holding pair in triumph.
Heading into the finale, Alix Earle was the predicted winner based on online buzz and fan polls, fueled by her powerful late-season performances with partner Val Chmerkovskiy.
Netizen react
Many viewers believed that Alix’s social media reach would give her the edge to win before the final rankings were announced.
But soon after the results, Alix fans who had supported her journey stormed the internet to protest the controversial outcome of Dancing with the Stars Season 34.
One such user commented on X (formerly Twitter), “even though they didn’t win, I’m so eternally proud of my girls. They worked so hard and had such great partnerships and did the damn thing!! I love them so bad (adding a grumpy emoji). #dwts”
“Why do I know him only after he won the show?” Another user quipped,
“Alix fans saying, ‘biggest robbery,’ mind you, Witney Carson just redeemed the Actual biggest robbery in the show #dwts,” commented the third user.
The 34th season of Dancing with the Stars ran for 11 weeks, featuring some spectacular performances.
Who is Robert Irwin?
Robert Irwin, 21, is a wildlife conservationist, photographer, and TV presenter from Australia, who grew up in the global spotlight as the son of the late Steve Irwin.
Irwin co-anchored programs at Australia Zoo, made regular appearances on talk shows, and was widely recognized for being grounded, sincere, and deeply passionate about continuing his father’s legacy.
The final standings of DWTS saw Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy claim second place, followed by Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa in third.
Closing out the competition were Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach in fourth and Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten in fifth.