The daughter of the late actor Robin Williams has debunked a fake claim about her father that was circulated on the 10th anniversary of his death. Zelda Williams, 35, has responded to a viral ex post that claimed Robin had a pet monkey. The legendary actor died by suicide on August 11, 2014, at the age of 63.
This post shared by the Time Capsule Tales account has a picture of Robin in which he is sitting with a monkey on his shoulder. The caption reads, “Robin Williams: One of the last photos of a great man, with his pet monkey, taken a few days before he committed suicide by hanging at the age of 63.”
‘Ignore creepy robots trying to get clicks from you’
Re-sharing the post, Zelda dismissed claims that her father ever had a pet monkey. She clarified that the monkey in the photo is Crystal, the monkey from the movie Night at the Museum, in which her father starred.
“It’s been brought to my attention that some AI written nonsense is going viral. Dad did not have a pet monkey, no one should, and if you ever feel like doing that, support your local exotic animal rescue organizations instead. This is his Night at the Museum co-star who lives in one now,” he wrote.
Zelda also responded to a fan’s post, confirming that the photo of Robin is indeed real, however, it was not the last photo taken before his death. “Nor is it his pet monkey, which is what I was correcting in the first place because I really don’t want people to think it’s cool and try to pet it,” she said. “Basically everything is fake except for the photo, ha.”
In another post, Zelda wrote, “And since Dad’s death anniversary is likely to see even more false or poorly researched posts go viral, maybe just assume they’re all bullshit (they usually are). Ignore the creepy robots trying to get your clicks and do something nice for yourself instead. I’ll definitely do that.”
Zelda is the daughter of Robin and Marsha Garces Williams. The Dead Poets Society star committed suicide at his Paradise, California home after battling anxiety, depression and Parkinson’s disease. His autopsy also found that he had Lewy body dementia.
