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Zelda Williams pleads: Stop AI videos!
“We had a deal. The one thing I said was I will do the voice. I’m doing it because I want to be part of this animation tradition. I want something for my children. One deal is, I just don’t want to sell anything — as in Burger King, as in toys, as in stuff.”
Williams had agreed to voice Genie in Aladdin only if Mickey Mouse didn’t use his performance for product merchandising. When the mouse went ahead anyway, using his voice in commercials and even overdubbing it to sell merchandise, he was furious.
Williams continued on:
“Then all of a sudden, they release an advertisement—one part was the movie, the second part was where they used the movie to sell stuff. Not only did they use my voice, they took a character I did and overdubbed it to sell stuff. That was the one thing I said: ‘I don’t do that.’”
More than thirty years later, another line is being crossed—this time not by Disney, but by fans using artificial intelligence to digitally resurrect the late comedian, and worse, to harass his own family with his image.
Taking a stand, Zelda Williams—Robin’s 36-year-old daughter and the director of Lisa Frankenstein—took to Instagram this week with a clear message: please stop.
Zelda posted a two-part post on her Instagram Stories last Monday:
“Please, just stop sending me AI videos of Dad. Stop believing I wanna see it or that I'll understand — I don't and I won't. If you're just trying to troll me, I've seen way worse, I’ll restrict and move on. But please, if you’ve got any decency, just stop doing this to him and to me, to everyone even, full stop. It’s dumb, it’s a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it’s NOT what he’d want.”
Her post arrived amid a flood of AI-generated videos that mimic the voices and faces of deceased celebrities, from Elvis Presley to Anthony Bourdain, for viral “what-if” clips and faux tributes.
An example circulating online shows a likeness of Robin Williams generated through the Sora app. This new OpenAI video tool can create photorealistic scenes and avatars from text prompts, often without permission from the estates or rights holders.
You can view the controversial TikTok here:
What is Sora, you may ask? It’s a newly released, app-based video generator from OpenAI that turns short text prompts into hyperrealistic, AI-created videos—even letting users insert their own photorealistic avatars into the scenes.
Major studio executives and talent agency chiefs have also voiced alarm over Sora—now in its second iteration, Sora 2—which has already raised red flags in Hollywood.
Industry leaders worry about how easily likenesses can be replicated and distributed without consent. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has promised to give creators “more granular control” over their intellectual property, but Hollywood isn’t exactly holding its breath.
As for Zelda, those clips aren’t tributes. They’re exploitation.
She continued on:
“To watch the legacies of real people be condensed down to ‘this vaguely looks and sounds like them so that’s enough,’ just so other people can churn out horrible TikTok slop puppeteering them is maddening.”
You can view Zelda's posts below:
@zeldawilliams/Instagram
@zeldawilliams/Instagram
This isn’t the first time she’s spoken up about her father’s legacy being misused. Last year, Mrs. Doubtfire actor Matthew Lawrence told Entertainment Weekly it would be “cool” to have Robin’s voice serve as “the next voice of AI.”
Lawrence explained:
“I would love — now, obviously, with the respect and with the okay from his family — but I would love to do something really special with his voice because I know for a generation, that voice is just so iconic.”
Zelda’s answer now seems more definitive: absolutely not.
Her father, known for films such as Aladdin, Robots, Happy Feet, Good Will Hunting, and Mrs. Doubtfire, died in August 2014 at the age of 63. He was survived by his widow, Susan Schneider, and his sons, Zak and Cody Williams, as well as his daughter, Zelda.
His battle for creative control wasn’t new. The Disney fallout led him to skip the direct-to-video flop The Return of Jafar, with The Simpsons’ Dan Castellaneta stepping in. Williams only returned for the third film after the studio issued a public apology—and reportedly gifted him a Picasso painting.
Zelda hasn’t softened her stance on the larger issue either:
“You’re not making art. You’re making disgusting, over-processed hotdogs out of the lives of human beings, out of the history of art and music, and then shoving them down someone else’s throat hoping they’ll give you a little thumbs up and like it. Gross.”
Gross indeed—and social media agreed:
Zelda later posted one more message to her followers, her most biting yet:
“And for the love of EVERYTHING, stop calling it ‘the future.’ AI is just badly recycling and regurgitating the past to be re-consumed. You are taking in the Human Centipede of content, and from the very very end of the line, all while the folks at the front laugh and laugh, consume and consume.”
Her frustration mirrors a broader debate over digital resurrection. AI “holograms” have been appearing everywhere, from concerts to documentaries. Former CNN host Jim Acosta even aired an interview with a hologram of Parkland shooting victim Joaquin Oliver to raise awareness about gun violence, a moment that blurred the line between memorial and marketing.
And this past summer, Rod Stewart drew backlash for featuring AI-generated likenesses of Ozzy Osbourne and other late musicians during a televised tribute.
Back in 1993, Robin Williams warned the world about corporations profiting from his voice without consent. Three decades later, his daughter is fighting the same battle—only now, it’s not just about toys or ads or social media clout.
It’s about preserving what’s left of a human legacy in an increasingly artificial world.
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Nevada Police Official Who Taught Policing Classes Fired After He's Caught On Video Calling Cop Gay Slur During Traffic Stop
@Donald_from_HI/X
Sheriff Jesse Watts-retired/Facebook
Ironically, one of the classes Scott teaches is "Preventing Police on Police Confrontations."
Scott was stopped by a Las Vegas Metro traffic officer for using his cell phone while driving, a violation of distracted driving laws across the country. In Nevada, it is illegal for drivers to "physically hold or manipulate a cell phone" for any communication, including "talking, texting, using the internet, or programming GPS."
Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS' 8 News Now broke the story last Wednesday, October 1.
In response to their report, Las Vegas Police Protective Association (LVPPA) union president Steve Grammas told KLAS the organization was "appalled and frankly, disgusted, with the choice of words used by a retired LVMPD captain."
Grammas added:
"While expressing displeasure with a car stop is the right of all people, using verbiage like we saw in the Body Worn Camera, by a former leader at LVMPD and current investigator at the attorney general’s office, toward an officer doing their job, is something that is extremely hard to comprehend."
"Holding his own personal judgment of our officer and using language the way he did should at minimum warrant a personal apology to our officer and potentially even an internal investigation by Attorney General Ford."
You can watch bodycam footage here:
When the officer asked for Scott's identification, he replied:
"I’m retired police captain with Metro—and I am the chief of investigations right now with AG’s Office."
Scott retired from LVMPD in 2019 and was appointed to his paid position with the Nevada AG's office in 2020.
As it became clear his name dropping and threat to call the LVMPD traffic officer's superior wasn't going to get him out of a ticket, Scott got verbally abusive.
After being given his ticket, Scott snapped:
"Bye, I have enough money to pay for mine, [f slur for gay men]!"
The officer replied:
"OK, very classy. I’m so glad that you’re retired and not with the department anymore."
Before news of his behavior broke, Scott's ticket for driving distracted was reduced to a parking violation with a fine of $119 by the Las Vegas Municipal Court.
Scott's LinkedIn profile states he teaches law enforcement classes including the aforementioned "Preventing Police on Police Confrontations,: as well as "Policing with Pride and Ethics in Leadership."
People were appalled that such a high ranking law enforcement official would behave in such a manner.
@bwebster0303/X
When asked for comment on October 1, the state Attorney General’s office said they were conducting an investigation into Scott's behavior on August 18.
As of October 3, the AG's spokesperson stated Scott was "no longer employed" by their office.
