Zelda Williams has stated that her visits to the social media platform X are primarily to address the exploitation of her late father, actor Robin Williams.
In a post made on Monday, she remarked, “It’s a readily accessible public forum for me to debunk things and try to protect him, futile though that may be.”
Williams took to the platform to denounce an AI-generated video that falsely claimed to show private footage of the Good Will Hunting star, who tragically passed away by suicide in 2014, discussing conspiracy theories.
She emphasized that not only is the video fabricated, but it is also unconvincing.
“Anyone who claims to be a fan who believes it clearly listened to his movies on mute because that voice is robotic and terrible,” she expressed.
In her post, Williams pointed out that those who can’t substantiate their arguments without using the likeness of a deceased person for added credibility are manipulating the audience.
“Let him rest,” she urged. “Just because he’s gone does not mean he’s now your puppet. Have some shame.”
A filmmaker and director of Lisa Frankenstein, Williams has previously spoken out against AI deepfakes, often framing them as a matter of consent.
On her Instagram stories on Monday, she wrote: “If you use these ‘tools’ to recreate real people and make them do whatever you’d like, you are very much removing their consent from the equation. If they, as human beings, would not or cannot make the choice to perform these acts for you in reality by their own free will, then you are actively manipulating their visage … denying another person their autonomy and humanity.”
Just last year, Williams made a public plea for individuals to refrain from sending her AI recreations of her father.
Throughout his lifetime, Robin Williams was cautious about how his likeness was used.
In 1993, The Los Angeles Times reported on a conflict he had with Disney over the use of his voice in advertisements.
“The one thing I said was I will do the voice,” he shared with NBC’s The Today Show. “One deal is, I just don’t want to sell anything — as in Burger King, as in toys, as in stuff.”
When his Genie character from Aladdin was utilized for commercial purposes, he vowed never to collaborate with Disney again.
Additionally, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the Robin Williams Trust has a clause that restricts the use of his voice and likeness for 25 years following his death, which means they cannot be used until Aug. 11, 2039.
Zelda Williams has expressed her commitment to honoring her father’s wishes, stating on X: “He protected me for years, I’ve gotta at least try and return the favor.”