A Judge Rejected Bindi Irwin's Dancing with the Stars Contract Because She Must Prove Her Dad Is Dead

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has rejected Bindi Irwin's Dancing with the Stars contract on the grounds that she needs to prove her father, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, is dead. Yep, you read that right.

According to TMZ, the show's lawyers were required to submit Irwin's contract to a judge because the 17-year-old is a minor. Her mother, Terri, has signed a document relinquishing all rights to any money Bindi earns on the show. But the judge has demanded the same document from Bindi's father... who died in 2006.

Dancing's Derek Hough reveals all the ways Bindi is a badass

It's unclear whether the judge is aware that Steve Irwin is deceased, or is requesting to see a death certificate, TMZ reports. But the judge ruled that "the court is unable to find that it is in the best interest of the minor to be bound by the terms of the contract" without the release document from Steve.

Bindi's haul from the show is nothing to sneeze at: according to TMZ, she's already earned $230,000, and if she makes it to the finals with her partner Derek Hough, she stands to make $50,000 a week for the final two weeks of competition.

Representatives from ABCsaid they had no comment on the report. A spokesperson for BBC Worldwide, which produces Dancing with the Stars, tells TVGuide.com: "We are aware of the situation and our legal team is in contact with the court to work it out."