Just because Robin Williams was famous doesn't make it's okay for anyone to treat his death with so little respect --regardless of what that person may think of suicide. The actor's 25-year-old daughter, Zelda Williams, may have found some initial comfort in the many sweet and compassionate messages she received on her Twitter and Instagram accounts after her father committed suicide Monday, but the few Internet trolls who make it a priority to hurt others with their nasty comments was enough to inspire her to quit using her social media accounts -- at least until she heals.
Some seriously mean-spirited folks decided to photoshop images of Robin and post them on her Twitter feed. After asking her supporters to report the trolls, she later had a change of heart and decided to bow out completely from Twitter:
"I'm sorry. I should've risen above," Williams posted on Twitter. "Deleting this from my devices for a good long time, maybe forever. Time will tell. Goodbye."
Zelda faced the same problem with jerks trolling her Instagram and deciding to let her know they didn't think she was mourning properly and should have posted additional photos of her dad -- as if anyone else has the right to tell her what will make her feel better about losing one of the most important people in her life.
To her credit, Zelda responded with class by posting the following message:
I will be leaving this account for a bit while I heal and decide if I'll be deleting it or not. In this difficult time, please try to be respectful of the accounts of myself, my family and my friends. Mining our accounts for photos of dad, or judging me on the number of them is cruel and unnecessary. There are a couple throughout, but the real private moments I shared with him were precious, quiet, and believe it or not, not full of photos or 'selfies'. I shared him with a world where everyone was taking their photo with him, but I was lucky enough to spend time with him without cameras too. That was more than enough, and I'm grateful for what little time I had. My favorite photos of family are framed in my house, not posted on social media, and they 'll remain there. They would've wound up on the news or blogs then, and they certainly would now. That's not what I want for our memories together. Thank you for your respect and understanding in this difficult time. Goodbye. Xo.
This young woman deserves nothing but kindness at this difficult time. And, for the most part, the comments and statements about Robin that are passing through the universe are positive. One of Zelda's biggest supporters has actually proven to be Frances Bean Cobain, who lost her father, Kurt Cobain, to suicide when she was a baby. Frances sent Zelda the sweet tweet: "You have such an incredibly beautiful soul. I love you but you already knew that. Wherever, whenever u need me I'll be there"
Whether you were a fan of Robin or not, he was a person who had a family who loved him. They deserve to be treated with respect.
What do you think about Zelda's decision to stay away from Twitter and Instagram at this time?
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