SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 13 (UPI) —
She’s Robin Williams’ grieving daughter, she’s super into video games and she’s named for the iconic princess from the Legend of Zelda — but to Internet trolls, Zelda Williams is just another target.
Less than two days after the death of her father, Williams deleted the Instagram and Twitter apps from her phone, citing repeated harassment from Internet trolls sending her graphic digitally edited images of father’s face superimposed on corpses. Both accounts remain active online and available for public viewing.
The trouble began when she posted a passage from The Little Prince on Twitter in honor of her late father.
pic.twitter.com/UEtjQ1f2zSâ € ” Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) August 12, 2014
That tweet inspired some trolling, but things especially escalated when Zelda posted a longer more personal message on her Tumblr, in which she spoke lovingly of her father and promised those harassing her family "that some small, giggling part of [Robin Williams] 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."
Seemingly taking that as a challenge, anonymous Twitter users posted increasingly graphic images of Robin Williams as a corpse, prompting the 25-year-old actress to write in a deleted tweet, “Please report @PimpStory @MrGoosebuster.
"I’m shaking. I can’t. Please. Twitter requires a link and I won’t open it. Don’t either. Please."
Hours later, Zelda announced she was at the very least taking a break from social media and may never return to the digital world.
I’m sorry. I should’ve risen above. Deleting this from my devices for a good long time, maybe forever. Time will tell. Goodbye.â € ” Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) August 13, 2014
As a notable person maintaining an active online presence, Zelda’s had to address trolls in the past, penning an open letter on her Tumbler in June to those who sought to harass her.
Dear Trolls
I am not a ‘dyke’ or a ‘yid’. I’m not a man in drag nor a failed abortion. What I AM is someone who doesn’t have to put up with someone else’s [expletive] and ‘take it’ like I keep being told. Sorry, despite how many times it’s parroted back at me from whichever other dip[expletive] was heard saying it first, that is NOT my job, nor the job of any other human with a pair of lips and a middle finger.
But seen as the insults have gotten further and further from the truth, it would appear the majority of you are grasping for straws, so let me help with that oh so favored and misused ‘comeback’ before it’s even been made:
Freedom of Speech is your right, but what you’ve misunderstood on your punch drunk mission to make being an insufferable asshat excusable is that it does NOT protect you from someone telling you you’re a racist, bigoted, bored prick giddily looking for digital excitement beyond furiously masturbating and crying. It does NOT protect you from someone calling you out for being the skidmark on everyone else’s otherwise pristine day. You, my dear little [expletive], do not automatically get a free pass for leaking all over the rest of the world without warning, reason, or even logic when they don’t know you or care to know you.
I’m afraid the only thing it DOES protect you from, english speaking douchebags of the USA…
… is the government suing you for being one.