{"id":594685,"date":"2026-02-16T19:53:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T19:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/594685\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T19:53:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T19:53:13","slug":"james-van-der-beeks-friend-defends-gofundme-after-4-8m-house-purchase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/594685\/","title":{"rendered":"James Van Der Beek\u2019s Friend Defends GoFundMe After $4.8M House Purchase"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Van Der Beek\u2019s friend has gone nuclear on those criticizing the late actor\u2019s family for raising millions on GoFundMe<\/a> while living on a newly-purchased $4.8 million ranch.<\/p>\n

Law & Order and Mortal Kombat star Mehcad Brooks, 45, said the criticism is \u201cfake af\u201d and is coming from people who have \u201cno idea\u201d what they are talking about.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s OK to stfu when you can\u2019t know what the f— you\u2019re talking about,\u201d he continued on Threads<\/a>, calling out another user. \u201cIt\u2019s OK not to try to seek attention off of other people\u2019s suffering or the generosity in response to it. Because James touched them for decades. It\u2019s OK for you to stay quiet in the face of blind stupidity, meanness, and lack of empathy. But maybe you\u2019re not OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly, in 2018. Daniel Zuchnik\/WireImage <\/p>\n

The post Brooks was replying to said it \u201cdoesn\u2019t sit right with me\u201d that Van Der Beek\u2019s family asked for donations\u2014receiving over two-and-a-half million dollars by Monday\u2014while living in such an expensive home. <\/p>\n

\u201cThousands of people around the world face this exact situation every day and deal with the struggle,\u201d the post read. \u201cThey don\u2019t get $2.5 million. It\u2019s just weird. He had to have had life insurance\u2026 and residual checks\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Der Beek, who starred in Dawson\u2019s Creek, died aged 48 on Wednesday after a years-long battle with colorectal cancer. His wife, Kimberly, announced his death on Instagram and posted a link to the family\u2019s fundraiser, which said Van Der Beek\u2019s treatment left his family \u201cout of funds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe cast of “Dawson’s Creek\u201d in its third season. Back row: James Van Der Beek. Middle row: Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, Meredith Monroe, and Kerr Smith. Front row: Katie Holmes. Columbia TriStar\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

The father of six said in November that he was selling memorabilia<\/a> from Dawson\u2019s Creek at the Winter Entertainment Memorabilia Live Auction to fund his cancer treatments. However, his family\u2019s plea for donations has rubbed many the wrong way after Realtor.com<\/a> revealed that Van Der Beek purchased a ranch outside Austin, Texas, for $4.8 million in January.<\/p>\n

The site writes that the family\u2019s \u201c36-acre spread includes a main house, several cabins, a pool, and a backyard with views of the Pedernales River.\u201d The Van Der Beeks have lived at the ranch since 2020 as renters, having moved from Beverly Hills, California, but they recently secured enough funds\u2014with the help of friends\u2014to make a down payment on the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames secured [a] down payment for the Texas ranch for the family with the help of friends through a trust so they could shift from rent to mortgage,\u201d his rep told People<\/a> over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"JamesJames Van Der Beek and his six children, who each share a striking resemblance to him. James Van Der Beek\/Instagram <\/p>\n

Van Der Beek\u2019s children\u2014ages 15, 13, 12, 9, 7, and 4\u2014have been homeschooled since moving to Texas. The family\u2019s GoFundMe page tells donors, including director Steven Spielberg<\/a>, that their gifts will directly fund bills and the children\u2019s education. <\/p>\n

\u201cYour generosity will help cover essential living expenses, pay bills, and support the children\u2019s education,\u201d the fundraiser writes. \u201cEvery donation, no matter the size, will help Kimberly and her family find hope and security as they rebuild their lives. Thank you for considering a gift to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? Follow us on Substack<\/a> and YouTube<\/a> for even more coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"James Van Der Beek\u2019s friend has gone nuclear on those criticizing the late actor\u2019s family for raising millions…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":594686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[171,69997,358,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-594685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-james-van-der-beek","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116082063027259657","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}