Robin Williams’s Daughter On AI, Matthew Lawrence Backlash

Again in 2023, Robin Williams’s daughter, Zelda, passionately spoke out in opposition to the “disturbing” concept of synthetic intelligence getting used to recreate her late dad’s voice, with the vastly beloved actor dying by suicide in 2014 at age 63.

Robin was famously very protecting of using his voice work in life, and even feuded with Disney after they used his Aladdin character, the Genie, to promote merchandise. The feud was so dramatic that Robin didn’t return for the animated film’s sequel, and Homer Simpson voice actor, Dan Castellaneta, was forged to switch him because the Genie as an alternative. Robin did return for the third film, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, two years later.

And Zelda advocated for her father in an announcement that was issued in help of the Writers Guild of America and the Display Actors Guild’s struggle in opposition to AI two years in the past. She wrote on the time: “I’m not an neutral voice within the SAG’s struggle in opposition to AI. I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many individuals need to prepare these fashions to create/ recreate actors who can not consent, like Dad.”

And that is why individuals have been left so mad at Matthew Lawrence — who labored with Robin as a baby star — after he just lately doubled down on his want to use AI to do “one thing actually particular” in Robin’s reminiscence.

For reference, Matthew was 12 years outdated when he performed Robin’s son Chris within the 1993 film Mrs. Doubtfire. He was already a fairly established youngster actor by the point that he landed the position, however he has all the time been extremely open about how influential working with Robin on this movie was for him.

In a separate interview with Leisure Weekly, Matthew shared: “I did not fairly understand it on the time, however that second there on set of Mrs. Doubtfire, that these six to eight months had been the most important studying curve anybody can get in terms of making motion pictures and being an entertainer.”

“After which on prime of that, you get an opportunity to be round Robin Williams, and he takes an funding in you, as he does with individuals. However particularly, he actually took an funding with me,” he went on. “He actually quantified what it was to be an actual artist for me within the sense that he was positively, and I labored with some nice individuals, and he was positively essentially the most sensible artist I’ve ever labored with.”

And Matthew doubled down on his concept to make use of AI to convey Robin’s voice again to the plenty throughout his look in Leisure Weekly’s Comedian-Con video suite on Friday — and it didn’t go down effectively with followers.

However this concept sparked instantaneous criticism on social media, with one vastly viral tweet responding to Matthew’s quotes merely studying: “Inform him to fuck off.”

Others referenced Zelda’s previous feedback, with one particular person sharing a screenshot of a information article about her quotes and writing: “Yeah, I doubt Matthew Lawrence goes to get that permission…”