“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).”
Zelda Williams is shutting down a viral rumor about her dad, the late Robin Williams.
On Sunday, which marks the tenth anniversary of her father’s death, the actress and director, 35, took to social media to refute a post claiming that the Mrs. Doubtfire actor owned a pet monkey.
The original post, shared on X the day prior, featured a photo of her father with a monkey on his shoulder and the caption:
“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.”
Zelda re-shared the post with her own caption. “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. That is his Night at the Museum costar, who now lives at one.”
As Zelda indicated, the photo features Crystal the monkey, who played Dexter in the Ben Stiller-fronted franchise. The image itself was pulled from Robin’s Instagram account and marked his second to last post prior to his death.
“Happy Birthday to me!,” the actor wrote on July 21, 2014, his 63rd birthday. “A visit from one of my favorite leading ladies, Crystal.”
Zelda further clarified that the X user incorrectly identifies the image as Robin’s final photo.
“It’s a real picture, it’s just not the last picture,” she wrote. “Nor is that his pet monkey, which was what I was correcting first and foremost as I really don’t want people thinking that’s cool and trying to own one. Basically everything else is fake except the photo.”
In a follow-up post, she added, “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.”
Robin Williams, the star of Dead Poets Society and Jumanji, died by suicide on Aug. 11, 2014. He was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder, Lewy body dementia, after his death. The disorder shares symptoms with Parkinson’s disease, which he had been mistakenly diagnosed with a few months before his death.
The late actor shared Zelda and son Cody, 31, with his second wife Marsha Garces, plus his older son Zak, 40, with his first wife Valerie Velardi.
Last month, his son Zak celebrated what would have been Robin’s 73rd birthday with an emotional social media post. “There’s not a week that goes by without someone sharing with me how you helped them through a dark time or a rough patch,” he wrote. “I’m so grateful to be your son,” Williams’ post concludes. “Love you forever.”
Since Robin’s death, Zak and sister Zelda have been active in promoting mental health awareness, and their mother, Susan Schneider Williams, published a 2016 essay in the medical journal Neurology about her husband’s final months.
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Source: The Wall Street Journal
