Late actor Robin Williams’ daughter has dismissed a fake claim about her father that had been circulating at the time of the 10th anniversary of his death. 35-year-old Zelda Williams has responded to a viral X post claiming Robin had a pet monkey. The legendary actor died by suicide on August 11, 2014, aged 63.
The post, shared by the account Time Capsule Tales, features a photo of Robin with a monkey on his shoulder. The caption reads, “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.”
‘Ignore the creepy robots trying to farm your clicks’
Resharing the post, Zelda dismissed the claim that her father ever had a pet monkey. She clarified that the monkey in the photo is Crystal the monkey from the Night at the Museum movies that her father starred in.
“It’s been brought to my attention some probably AI written BS like this is going viral. 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,” she wrote.
Zelda also responded to a fan’s post, confirming that the photo of Robin is indeed real, however, it was not the last picture taken before he died. “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 said. “Basically everything else is fake except the photo, ha.”
In another post, 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. The Dead Poets Society star died by suicide inside his Paradise Cay, California home after days of battling anxiety, depression and Parkinson’s disease. His autopsy also found that he had Lewy Body Dementia.
