Robert Irwin issues public apology to Coffs Harbour restaurant after failing to pay for his meal
The Australian wildlife warrior, 21, shared a video on Instagram directed at the owners of The Jetty Pavilion in Coffs Harbour, revealing his embarrassment over his recent 'dine and dash' at their eatery while road tripping along the east coast.
Irwin said he stopped in Coffs for dinner over the weekend, where he ordered a takeaway salad and quickly became distracted by a flurry of fans wanting selfies.
'I went in there, and there was a lot of people who, you know, saw me and said g'day, and wanted to have a photo. But it turned into a bit of a frenzy … It was a bit of a flurry there for a moment,' Irwin began.
'Anyway, they got the salad done super fast, I made sure I said hi to absolutely everyone, 'Cheers, thanks so much, see ya later.'
'Then the next morning wake up and realise, I never paid for my salad! I just did the old dine and dash and didn't even realise. I felt terrible.'
The I'm A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! co-host said he quickly reached out to the venue and offered to hand over his credit card details to fix up the bill, as he'd already left Coffs at that point.
'They said, 'Don't worry, just leave us a good review.' I said, 'I'll do you one better!'' Irwin continued.
'There are eight million of you guys on here [Instagram]. Go and support the Jetty Pavilion. They are the absolute best.
'I apologise again. Today is not the day I start my life of crime, as much as the tabloids would love that.'
The venue hilariously reacted to the video on its official Instagram account, revealing the salad at the centre of the great Irwin dine and dash scandal: A $26 Harvest Bowl.
Owners Kyle Miller and Ben Hemsworth sat down for an interview with Today Monday morning, where they assured they had no hard feelings against Irwin for his slip-up. Quite the contrary, they say he's brought money-can't-buy exposure to their business and the area of Coffs Harbour.
'Unbelievable [exposure]. I was a bit in shock,' owner Hemsworth said on-air.
'I was expecting just to see 'Jetty Pavilion has a great salad' on a Google review, and then I got a message from my daughter saying, 'Oh my god, I saw the video!' And my phone just lit up.'
The pair also cheekily put majority of the blame on their 'starstruck' waitresses.
'Some of the girls got a little starstruck and forgot to accept a payment, and they came and told me a little afterwards, and I said, 'Did you get his number?'' Hemsworth said, laughing.
'It's not very common for us to get a world celebrity in the door, so we can't blame the girls for that one, I guess he's a good lookin' fella,' Miller added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
37 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Scientific': Actor to fight Nazi salute charge on mathematics of arm angle
An Australian actor will challenge what exactly constitutes a Nazi salute as he fights a criminal accusation levelled against him. Damien Richardson's lawyer said what exactly equalled a Nazi salute was 'scientific' and 'mathematical', including the gesture-maker's arm angle and finger arrangement. Mr Richardson, an actor from some of Australia's most successful serial dramas, appeared in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. He will challenge the definitions of the Nazi salute-banning laws, which took effect in Victoria in late 2023. 'It's a single issue as to the interpretation of the law,' defence lawyer Peter Monagle said in court. 'There seems to be some sort of mathematical formula about the arm and whether the fingers are together.' In court on Tuesday, the charge was also amended. Mr Richardson is now charged with did intentionally perform a Nazi gesture by performing a Nazi salute, or a gesture that so resembles a Nazi salute, that it is likely to be confused with or mistaken for a Nazi salute whilst knowing that the gesture is a Nazi gesture and the performance of the gesture occurred in a public place. The case has been scheduled for a two-day contested hearing in November when the prosecution will look to call an expert on what constitutes a Nazi salute. Mr Richardson and his lawyer asked for a sentencing indication from the magistrate this week, which was refused. The police also refused a push for a diversion sentence, which would have meant Mr Richardson avoided a conviction. Mr Monagle also raised the case of Victoria's first Nazi salute conviction – an act Jacob Hersant committed in front of media – when discussing a sentence indication. Hersant is appealing. Mr Monagle also said that a Victoria Police sergeant was not charged for making the salute 'at the police academy two days in a row', though the defence lawyer quickly retracted the statement when magistrate Luisa Bizzani cut him off. 'It was a gesture that was made without thought to what the ramifications could be,' Mr Monagle said of his client's alleged act. Ms Bizzani also rebuffed this point, saying Mr Richardson's statement to police showed he 'knew he could be fined or jailed'. Prosecution lawyer Nicholas La Mattina said the defence conceded 'it was a Nazi gesture but not a Nazi salute'. The court was told the event at which Mr Richardson allegedly committed the act was livestreamed, and the two-hour recording would be played at the November court date. Another person spoke at the event, and Mr Richardson's lawyer wants the other speaker's section cut from the evidential video so as not to prejudice his case. Outside court, Mr Richardson declined to comment to NewsWire. Mr Monagle reiterated his point about what constitutes a salute. 'I didn't know there were scientific facts involved in this, but we'll see what he says' the lawyer said, referencing the prosecution expert. Mr Richardson had a recurring role on Australian television show Neighbours from 2014 to 2020. He also acted in Blue Heelers, McLeod's Daughters and Wentworth. Without an acting credit to his name since 2021, Mr Richardson unsuccessfully ran for politics in 2022. At the state election that year, he ran for the right-wing Freedom Party. He contested a federal senate seat as an independent. In 2023, the Victorian government criminalised Nazi symbols and gestures. The ban took effect in October of that year. Displaying the Nazi swastika was already illegal before the new laws, but the reform banned further symbols, including the salute. Hersant, a Victorian neo-Nazi, performed the salute on courthouse steps in front of media cameras less than a week after the laws took effect. He was sentenced to a month in prison but is appealing.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Hemsworth guru's $13m pay day
Billionaire music industry pioneer Tom Misner has paid a record price for a Byron Bay dream home owned by a wellness guru to the stars. Misner, who made his fortune after selling his audio engineering school SAE Institute for more than $300m in 2012, spends his time between Monaco and Australia. And settlement records reveal he's paid close to $12.9m ($12,869,290.00 to be exact) for 'Cedar Hill' at Newrybar. That was owned by wellness coach James Duigan, who has reportedly counted Chris Hemsworth and a range of other celebrities including Zoe Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Nigella Lawson among his clients, and his wife Chrissy. Cedar Hill, which is an award-winning eight-bedroom, eight-bathroom designer residence with pool on 2ha, is close by a luxury compound owned by Chris Hemsworth's brother, Liam. Cedar Hill had been on the market for several years. Duigan clearly had stars in his eyes with his original expectations of $20m with different agents, before Sotheby's gun Will Phillips clinched the recent deal. The result was sufficient to secure the Newrybar record price, beating the previous record for a nearby home on a much larger 15ha block. Phillips also has another home owned by Misner, a nine-bedroom Tuscan-inspired residence, in nearby Bungalow, listed for sale in an expressions of interest campaign. He's only owned that since last November, when he paid $15m — a record at the time. That record was smashed in May, with Chemist Warehouse millionaire Brett Clark's purchase of the equine estate Copperstone for $27.5m, previously owned by Tom and Emma Lane of the Oroton fashion empire.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Guy Sebastian's manager found not guilty of four counts jury returns partial verdict
Guy Sebastian's former manager has been found not guilty of four counts of embezzling money from the former pop star. Titus Emanuel Day stood trial in the NSW District Court where he battled allegations he embezzled more than $600,000 in royalties and performance fees from the Australian Idol winner between 2013 and 2020. Since his arrest more than five years ago, Day has denied the allegations and he pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of embezzlement as a clerk or servant. He also pleaded not guilty to one count of attempting to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception. On Tuesday, the jury returned verdicts finding Day not guilty of four counts of embezzlement. Those four counts related to allegations that he embezzled over $113,000 worth of Mr Sebastian's performance fees relating to a Big Bash game, a wedding, a corporate gig for Harvey Norman and an ambassadorship with Dreamworld. The jury on Tuesday rejected the Crown prosecution's version of events relating to those counts. They have been told to continue to deliberate on the remaining 31 counts. Mr Day stood trial accused of embezzling over $620,000 in performance fees and royalties by failing to remit the money to Mr Sebastian. Mr Day maintained that some accounting errors were the result of family difficulties at the time which resulted in his attention being elsewhere, and a mistaken belief that some of the money that came into his company's account for Mr Sebastian related to another client. He also held a view that the former Australian Idol winner owed him unpaid commissions, his barrister Thomas Woods told the court during the trial. Mr Woods also told the court that performance fees from the Swift tour were used to purchase shares on Mr Sebastian's behalf. 'It is not implausible that my client made a wrong assumption in relation to these counts in the indictment … That he made a mistake is not fanciful or far fetched,' Mr Woods told the jury. During his closing address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC said Mr Day had fabricated invoices to demand payment from Mr Sebastian. Mr Day denied having fabricated the documents and his barrister Thomas Woods argued the allegation could not be proven and was 'fanciful'. Mr Sebastian first worked with Day while he was with his former talent agency, 22 Management. Mr Sebastian agreed to follow him as a marquee client when Day created his own agency, 6 Degrees Management, in 2009. The court heard that Mr Sebastian was Day's long-time client and friend, however they had a bitter falling out in 2017 after Mr Sebastian raised questions over financial records. Mr Sebastian during his evidence told the court he was happy with Mr Day's management when he first moved into his stable.
