
Robin Williams may have died in 2014, but the legendary actor hasn’t been out of the public consciousness since.
On the 10th anniversary of Williams’ death, the daughter of the Mrs. Doubtfire actor and comedian, Zelda Williams, took to X to set straight some rumors straight. In. the post, Williams slammed the spread of misinformation on social media and disproved a viral post claiming to contain the last photograph of Williams in the days before his death. The photograph appeared to show Williams with a monkey on his shoulder, and the original poster claimed that it was taken a few days before Williams committed suicide at age 63.
In the note, Williams said that the post had been brought to her attention and that it was inaccurate.
“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.”
The image itself wasn’t generated by AI, it turns out, but perhaps the original posts were. According to Williams’ daughter Zelda,
Williams was a lover of animals, and one of the most public and recognizable examples of that love was his meeting with Koko the gorilla in 2001. Koko, a gorilla known for her ability to communicate using American Sign Language, met the actor as part of a campaign launched by The Gorilla Foundation in California. Video footage and photographs of the pair interacting have been shared online for the last two decades, and some have even suggested that Koko the gorilla recognized Williams from watching VHS tapes of movies in which he appeared.
Williams himself praised the experience, describing it as “unforgettable,” and telling news outlets at the time that he was amazed by the gorilla’s emotional range and intelligence.
You can watch the video of the pair meeting here.
Williams had two children with his second wife, Marsha Garces, with Zelda being the eldest of the two. Williams had another son with Garces, Cody, as well as a son, Zak Williams, from his relationship with his first wife, Valerie Velardi.