Robin Williams' Daughter Leaves Twitter, Instagram Following Crude Harassment Over Father's Death
Social media giant Twitter has said it will be reviewing its user-protection policies after Zelda Williams, the daughter of actor Robin Williams, abandoned her account following a series of crude posts where some sent her Photoshopped pictures of her father's dead body and even blamed her for his suicide.
"We will not tolerate abuse of this nature on Twitter," Del Harvey, Twitter's vice president of trust and safety, said in a statement, according to CNN. "We have suspended a number of accounts related to this issue for violating our rules and we are in the process of evaluating how we can further improve our policies to better handle tragic situations like this one.
"This includes expanding our policies regarding self-harm and private information, and improving support for family members of deceased users."
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Williams, who also works as an actress, posted a message on Tuesday reading: "I'm sorry. I should've risen above. Deleting this from my devices for a good long time, maybe forever. Time will tell. Goodbye."
The 25-year-old actress apparently decided to indefinitely abandon her Twitter and Instagram accounts after at least two people sent Photoshopped images of her father's dead body and even blamed her for father's death.
The news of Robin Williams' death shocked people around the world on Monday after he was found in his Northern California home, having apparently committed suicide due to asphyxia.
The Academy award-winning actor, famous for both drama and comedy films such as "Mrs. Doubtfire," "Dead Poet's Society," "Hook," "Good Will Hunting," "Aladdin," and others had been battling severe depression, revealed his media representative Mara Buxbaum.
The comedian also struggled with substance abuse throughout his life, though it is not known if that was a contributing factor to his apparent suicide.
Zelda Williams posted a message reflecting her grief on Tuesday, noting that her father "was always warm, even in his darkest moments."
"While I'll never, ever understand how he could be loved so deeply and not find it in his heart to stay, there's minor comfort in knowing our grief and loss, in some small way, is shared with millions. It doesn't help the pain, but at least it's a burden countless others now know we carry, and so many have offered to help lighten the load."
The actress had received many messages in support on Twitter, but called the series of abusive ones she received "cruel and unnecessary." She asked followers to report the accounts on Twitter, and while some of the abusers were banned, others continues creating new accounts.
She made a similar announcement on Instagram, writing: "I will be leaving this account for a bit while I heal and decide if I'll be deleting it or not," she wrote. "In this difficult time, please try to be respectful."
