Robin Williams’ daughter denies ‘BS’ claim about her dad on 10th anniversary of his death
Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda Williams, addressed a fake rumor about the late actor on the 10th anniversary of his death.
Zelda, 35, responded to a viral post on X (formerly Twitter) that claimed Robin — who died by suicide at age 63 on August 11, 2014 — had a pet monkey.
The post, shared by the account Time Capsule Tales, featured a picture of the “Good Will Hunting” star with a monkey on his shoulder.
“Robin Williams: One of the last photos of a gem of a man, with his pet monkey, taken a few days before he committed suicide by hanging at the age of 63,” the post read.
Zelda reshared the post on her X account Sunday and refuted the claim that her famous dad ever had a pet monkey.
“It’s been brought to my attention some probably AI written BS like this is going viral,” she wrote.
“Dad didn’t own a pet monkey, NO ONE should, and if you’re ever tempted to, support your local exotic animal rescues instead,” Zelda continued.
She further clarified that the monkey is actually Crystal the money from the “Night at the Museum” movies that Robin starred in. He shared the original photo on his 63rd birthday on July 21, 2014, less than a month before his death.
In a response to a fan’s tweet, Zelda explained the photo of Robin is real, but it wasn’t the last picture taken of the actor before his death.
“Nor is that his pet monkey, which was what I was correcting first and foremost as I really dont want people thinking that’s cool and trying to own one,” she went on. “Basically everything else is fake except the photo, ha.”
In another tweet, Zelda wrote, “And since more completely false or badly researched posts are likely to go viral on Dad’s death anniversary, maybe just assume they’re all BS (they usually are). Ignore the creepy robots trying to farm your clicks & do something nice for yourself instead. I sure as hell will.”
Zelda is the daughter of Robin and Marsha Garces Williams, who was married to the “Jumanji” actor from 1989 to 2008.
Last year, Zelda spoke out against the use of AI to recreate her late dad.
“I am not an impartial voice in SAG’s fight against AI,” she wrote on her Instagram Story in October. “Ive witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad.”
“This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real,” she added. “I’ve already heard AI used to get his ‘voice’ to say whatever people want and while I find it personally disturbing, the ramifications go far beyond my own feelings. Living actors deserve a chance to create characters with their choices, to voice cartoons, to put their HUMAN effort and time into the pursuit of performance.”
Robin took his own life inside his Paradise Cay, Calif. home after battling anxiety, depression and Parkinson’s disease. His autopsy revealed he had Lewy Body Dementia.
Zelda has followed in her father’s footsteps by working as an actor and director in Hollywood. She made her feature-length directorial debut earlier this year with the horror comedy “Lisa Frankenstein” starring Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton.
“I started transitioning toward wanting to direct and wanting to leave behind acting around when Dad died,” she told Rolling Stone in January.
“Being behind the camera became a much less self-conscious place than being in front of it,” Zelda explained. “For some people, I reminded them of him and it made them sad. Or I was just never going to live up to him and it made them angry, or they didn’t believe I should be there. In either case, none of those things are about me. They shouldn’t concern me. But I’m human, and it was really tough.”
Zelda also said that she now lives a “pretty peaceful life” in Los Angeles.
