Bindi Irwin is facing a backlash in the US after entering one of America's most heated public relations battles.
The 15-year-old, alongside mother Terri and brother Robert, announced during an appearance on the top-rating US morning TV program, Good Morning America, on Thursday she is teaming up with SeaWorld theme parks.
Orlando-based SeaWorld Entertainment Inc has been pounded by bad press, protests and boycotts by performers including Willie Nelson and The Beach Boys the past year after the release of the award-winning film documentary Blackfish, which probes the treatment of killer whales at the company's theme parks.
"I'm so excited to be carrying on in Dad's footsteps and making sure that everything he worked so hard for continues for the generations to come," Bindi, speaking of her father Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin, who died in 2006 from a stingray barb, said.
"That's why I'm thrilled to be empowering kids."
