James Van Der Beek’s Rep Spoke Out After Backlash Over Home Purchase And GoFundMe

It’s hard to believe James Van Der Beek has passed. The loving father and nineties Dawson’s Creek icon was only 48, and suffering from colorectal cancer at the time of his death. His pal Alfonso Ribeiro said he’d beat it once, and it came back. It’s all been very tragic, and marred even more by stories of the actor trying to sell memorabilia before his death to set his family up.

Because Van Der Beek was not a regularly working actor in Hollywood, there’s been some question about his health insurance coverage around the time of his death. His family for a long time didn’t own the Texas compound lived on, and upon his passing a GoFundMe account was set up for James’ wife, Kimberly, and their six young children. The GoFund Me specifically states the family are “out of funds” amidst the actor’s cancer battle, and at the time of this writing, more than $2.6 million dollars have been raised to keep them on their feet. Some major names, like Steven Spielberg and Zoe Saldaña, have even chipped in.

In recent days, however, there have been some grumblings from fans on forums like Reddit denouncing all of this money that has been donated for the Van Der Beek family, particularly after reports broke indicating the actor had been able to purchase the Texas Compound they’d been renting prior to his death. Realtor.com confirmed the actor had purchased the $4.76 million dollar home one month prior to his death, on January 9th.

What Fans Said After GoFundMe And House Purchase Went Viral

Some fans who seem unhappy with the family’s financial planning in the wake of his illness have been very vocal about not donating to the GoFundMe. Nor do they seem happy with how, due to sympathies over James Van Der Beek’s death, the family is essentially being handed a wad of cash. That hasn’t sat well with some folks on several different Reddit threads (also this one), as well as other places on the Internet.

• "These is why these GoFundMe efforts are annoying. It's usually gullible people giving celebrities with bad financial planning their hard-earned money. These people want to live in lavish homes and luxuries beyond their limits. The wife needs to downsize. The hype around his death will fade, and she'll need a real, steady income."
• "Actually they also have a $2.5 million home in Beverly Hills they’re collecting rent on. Healthcare in the US is bad, but come on people, don’t get grifted."
• "They could afford $4.8 a month ago but can't afford anything now... And asking the public for money. That's some [bs]."
• "I don’t want to be rude, but couldn’t they sell the land and ranch and downsize if they needed money? I’m not saying their donations should be taken away, or they are not possibly struggling, but there are so many less fortunate people on GoFundMe who don’t even get a dime nor do they have a 5 million dollar property they can use as collateral."
• "We saw it happen with the Palisades fires too — people donating hundreds of thousands to celebrities who lost their homes in the fires but the thousands of regular civilians who lost EVERYTHING were forgotten about by so many and are still completely displaced."

Not everyone feels this way, as more than 49.8 thousand donations have come in for the Van Der Beek family since the GoFundMe was activated, and others in the industry, like Broadway star Donna Vivino, have defended the family's choices. Reese Witherspoon and other A-listers have paid tribute, as the Legally Blonde prequel will mark Van Der Beek's final role.

Why James Van Der Beek’s Rep Spoke Out

As the discourse continues online, People caught up to James Van Der Beek’s rep to find out what had happened with the rented ranch property in Spicewood, Texas, and whether reports about Van Der Beek having recently purchased the property were true. His rep spoke out on record, noting it had been purchased by the family.

Meanwhile, over on the GoFundMe, the “friends” of the family who set up the account have asked for privacy as the family mourns, though they have thanked those who donated "for their kindness."

Van Der Beek and his family left Hollywood and moved to Texas back in 2020, and spoke about the "key" being to appreciate both places for what they are. Prior to his death, the actor and his wife also still reportedly owned a separate California home that at one point had been listed as a rental for $12,000 a month.