Zak, Zelda, and Cody Williams reopened an account that had sat untouched since 2014, saying they want a trusted place for real photos and clips of their father as AI recreations spread.
The three children of Robin Williams have reopened his Instagram account, twelve years after it went quiet.
Zak, Zelda, and Cody Williams posted a joint statement on the page Monday. Their stated reason is the volume of AI-generated video and audio using their father’s likeness and voice.
“As technology evolves, we want this to be a safe, trusted place where the stories, photos, videos, and memories shared reflect his legacy with authenticity, warmth, and care,” they wrote.
What Robin Williams’ children said
The full statement frames it around his work rather than the AI problem.
“As we recognize what would be our Dad’s 75th year, we’re grateful to see new generations discovering his work while longtime fans continue to celebrate the joy he brought into their lives,” the siblings wrote. They described the account as a way to share his talent and humor, including the moments that made people laugh.
Zelda expanded on her own account, acknowledging that seeing the page active again might land badly for some people.
“Making that space into one where people can find authentic clips and photos of him is one of the best ways we’ve now found to fight back against rampant AI abuse of his voice and likeness on here,” she wrote. She closed with, “Might be a drop in the bucket, but we’re trying.”
Zelda Williams has been saying this since 2023
Monday was not the start of it, and that is the part most of today’s coverage is missing.
During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, she called AI recreations of her father’s voice personally disturbing, describing them as a poor facsimile at best.
In October 2025, she posted a direct plea asking people to stop sending her AI videos of him. “Stop believing I wanna see it or that I’ll understand, I don’t and I won’t,” she wrote at the time, adding that it was a waste of time and energy and not what he would have wanted.
Three years, three escalations, ending with the family taking over the platform themselves.
The last post on the account was from 2014
Before Monday, the most recent thing on the page was a birthday tribute Williams wrote for Zelda in July 2014.
He died the following month, at 63.
Reopening an account that had been frozen on that particular post is not a small thing, which is presumably why Zelda addressed the strangeness of it directly.
What this does and doesn’t do
Reclaiming one account does not remove anything from anywhere else.
AI video of deceased performers has become its own content category, cheap to produce and rewarded by every algorithm it touches. A verified page full of real clips competes with that on search results and nothing more.
Williams is in Aladdin, Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, Jumanji, and Mrs. Doubtfire, and there is more genuine footage of him than almost any comic of his generation. His family is betting that it holds up better than the imitations.
His daughter already said what the odds look like. A drop in the bucket, and they are trying anyway.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Variety (August 18, 2026), the full joint statement, Zelda’s Instagram story, and her 2023 SAG strike comments
TheWrap (August 18, 2026), the “drop in the bucket” line and the October 2025 context
Associated Press, via syndication (August 18, 2026), the account’s dormancy since 2014 and the timing relative to his 75th birthday