Robin Williams' death last August 11 caused heartbreak for everyone who grew up with his movies. It was particularly painful for his daughter, Zelda. She not only had to deal with losing her father but she was also subjected to vicious attacks from trolls and naysayers on social media.
Zelda William's Twitter was filled with mentions from online bullies who sent her insulting tweets and morbid photos of her deceased father.
"Please report @PimpStory @MrGoosebuster. I'm shaking. I can't. Please," the 25-year-old pleaded on Twitter. "Twitter requires a link and I won't open it. Don't either. Please."
The social media site has responded to Williams' request by suspending the mentioned accounts.
Del Harvey, Twitter's Vice President on trust and safety released a statement on the issue, saying "We will not tolerate abuse of this nature on Twitter. 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."
He added, "This includes expanding our policies regarding self-harm and private information, and improving support for family members of deceased users."
However, The Verge reports that the culprits have opened up new accounts and are even "boasting about the attention."
Deciding to quit from social media entirely, a final message was posted on Zelda Williams' Twitter: "I'm sorry. I should've risen above. Deleting this from my devices for a good long time, maybe forever. Time will tell. Goodbye."
She also uploaded a message on Instagram: "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." It was followed by a request for family's privacy as they grieved.
On Tumbler, a touching and somewhat witty blog entry served as the younger Williams' eulogy for her father. In the post, she admitted the hurt that his suicide brought to their family but also thanked the countless people who shared kind words to them.
To the tactless naysayers, she only had this to say: "As for those who are sending negativity, know that some small, giggling part of him is sending a flock of pigeons to your house to poop on your car. Right after you've had it washed. After all, he loved to laugh too."
