First I really respected Van Der Beek and liked some of his acting roles. Also I dont have TDS like many here and have no problem with how he and his family lived their lives.

But I am bewildered by the financial situation and the gofundme thing. First how does a guy in his situation have no health insurance or none of his treatment was covered? Even if he wasn't working, there is the health exchange to purchase a plan. Even if he had a 20k per year out of pocket max, how would that bankrupt a multi millionaire?!? How can you explain that recent home purchase?

Then there is the gofundme. I really hope his wife wasn't on board with that horribly tacky idea. That family is not destitute. They have at least 5 million in assets. This gofundme says a lot about how ridiculous the general public is about worshipping celebrities. Why would anyone want to fund some strangers affluent lifestyle? Get your priorities in order.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to have sympathy for someone like Van der Beek who was a full throated supporter of politicians, like Trump, who actively make healthcare less affordable.

Really?? You can’t have sympathy for him? That’s strange and I’m sad you call yourself a Democrat (I presume).

What’s strange about it? He and his wife are MAGA and actively voted for and promoted politicians who make healthcare less accessible and more expensive for most people. Beyond me why people are glazing him now.

STFU.

Is any of that inaccurate? NP.

It’s all lies. Apparently his wife posted some anti-vaccine stuff during Covid and some other crunchy health things. James himself never posted anything like that, nor did he ever promote any politician or proclaim himself to be MAGA. But apparently his wife stepped out of line at some point, so some people want to write off the whole family. A weird reflection on our modern times.

As far as I can tell, James was critical of some of the COVID-19 mandates and had concerns about running Biden in 2024 which was reported as “using right wing rhetoric” even though Joe Biden ultimately exited the race and democrats had to run a candidate without a primary. His wife did spread a lot of COVID19 conspiracies.

This thread has devolved, sadly.

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Anonymous wrote:So sad for his six children and his wife.

Me too. It seems like Kimberly has never worked (at least since she married him). I hope he had good life insurance. Raising six kids and maintaining a big farm in Texas (or anywhere, really) must be incredibly expensive. I have a feeling they weren't in a good place financially since James was auctioning off memorabilia from his football movie.

Wife has already started a gofundme

Lol the rich persons go to. She can't work?

Her husband isn't even buried yet. She and her kids are in mourning. She has a farm/ranch to run. Her youngest child is 2 or 3 years old. She hasn't worked since 2010 because she's been a SAHM.

All of this is true, but most people don’t have this luxury when their spouse dies. But she’s already collected 522k in just a few hours so it’s good to be famous.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-james-van-der-beeks-family

So her first thought was how she was going to support her family going forward, and she used her time wisely, knowing that this would be a far more effective fundraiser than going out and submitting job applications for entry level admin that pays $30k a year. It would have been monumentally stupid had she just decided to do the latter. Good for her.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to have sympathy for someone like Van der Beek who was a full throated supporter of politicians, like Trump, who actively make healthcare less affordable.

Really?? You can’t have sympathy for him? That’s strange and I’m sad you call yourself a Democrat (I presume).

What’s strange about it? He and his wife are MAGA and actively voted for and promoted politicians who make healthcare less accessible and more expensive for most people. Beyond me why people are glazing him now.

STFU.

Is any of that inaccurate? NP.

It’s all lies. Apparently his wife posted some anti-vaccine stuff during Covid and some other crunchy health things. James himself never posted anything like that, nor did he ever promote any politician or proclaim himself to be MAGA. But apparently his wife stepped out of line at some point, so some people want to write off the whole family. A weird reflection on our modern times.

Anonymous wrote:Why would people give millions to multimillionaire Erika Kirk?

I guess the same reason applies here.

Musk advocates for having lots of kids and to worry about funding them later. That seems to be the thought process here.

If you deem James’ widow and kids worthy of donations, the questions I have:

Does their choice to have lots of kids play into it (versus, say, families who want more kids but decide to have less for financial reasons)?

Is it a worthy donation to help fund the college educations of 6 kids of a famous person who died and could have lived on less/had less kids?

Is donating to his family more worthy than others who are not famous, have kids and have lost a spouse because he was famous or he appeared likable to you?

I am genuinely trying to understand the rationale.

It’s sad suburban women who want to feel connected to their tv crush. It is framed as an expression of sympathy but really they get to feed their obsession with celebrities and allow them to feel like they are a part of something bigger without actually having to do something truly meaningful. It’s the same people who would join fam clubs in the old days. Maybe the GoFund me will send signed headshots as a thank you.

Anonymous wrote:There is zero evidence that he supported Trump.

No, but more evidence than not to suggest he leaned in that direction.

As Rolling Stone reported last year, Kimberly, who has more than 231,000 followers, “has taken a staunch anti-vaccine position, with posts as far back as 2016 falsely linking vaccines to autism. [She] also conducted interviews over Instagram Live with doctors who have wrongly touted the use of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment; argued in early 2020 that the advocacy of a COVID-19 vaccine diminished the idea of preventative treatments; and falsely linked rapper DMX’s death to the vaccine (despite an autopsy revealing he suffered a cocaine-induced heart attack).” And it’s not just her; according to the magazine, “social media photos also showed the couple engaged with multiple anti-vax influencers,” including conservative comedian and influencer JP Sears, who in addition to disseminating conspiracy theories has also wholeheartedly embraced transphobia. (Sears has been on his own journey toward extremism; in 2014, he was making videos expressing his support for gay marriage; now he hangs out with Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan and says his YouTube channel is about “calling out: absurd woke BS, the unbelievable lies and corruption of tyrants, and highlighting the work that other awesome freedom fighters are doing.”)

Anonymous wrote:Why would people give millions to multimillionaire Erika Kirk?

I guess the same reason applies here.

Musk advocates for having lots of kids and to worry about funding them later. That seems to be the thought process here.

If you deem James’ widow and kids worthy of donations, the questions I have:

Does their choice to have lots of kids play into it (versus, say, families who want more kids but decide to have less for financial reasons)?

Is it a worthy donation to help fund the college educations of 6 kids of a famous person who died and could have lived on less/had less kids?

Is donating to his family more worthy than others who are not famous, have kids and have lost a spouse because he was famous or he appeared likable to you?


I am genuinely trying to understand the rationale.

All great questions. I'm confident the family has enough money to live well enough, but people are choosing to help sustain a multi-millionaire lifestyle. Why?

Why would people give millions to multimillionaire Erika Kirk?

I guess the same reason applies here.

Musk advocates for having lots of kids and to worry about funding them later. That seems to be the thought process here.

If you deem James’ widow and kids worthy of donations, the questions I have:

Does their choice to have lots of kids play into it (versus, say, families who want more kids but decide to have less for financial reasons)?

Is it a worthy donation to help fund the college educations of 6 kids of a famous person who died and could have lived on less/had less kids?

Is donating to his family more worthy than others who are not famous, have kids and have lost a spouse because he was famous or he appeared likable to you?

I am genuinely trying to understand the rationale.

There is zero evidence that he supported Trump.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to have sympathy for someone like Van der Beek who was a full throated supporter of politicians, like Trump, who actively make healthcare less affordable.

Really?? You can’t have sympathy for him? That’s strange and I’m sad you call yourself a Democrat (I presume).

What’s strange about it? He and his wife are MAGA and actively voted for and promoted politicians who make healthcare less accessible and more expensive for most people. Beyond me why people are glazing him now.

STFU.

Is any of that inaccurate? NP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They bought the $4.7M farm within the last month (they’d previously been renting it). Why are they asking us regular folk for money again?

I have not commented on this thread to date and was so sad to hear of his passing. I don't care about the nuances of his treatment or diagnosis or symptoms (though as a 42 year old not getting a colonoscopy for a few years, presumably, a little freaked!) But this is weird and offputting as a middle/UMC person. I'd say they were overleveraged, but they didn't own until a month before he died and splashed out almost 5 mil? Hmm. Were they trying to do some kind of Ballerina Farm big family influencer thing? I just can't imagine being at deaths door with 6 kids and an unemployable wife and thinking a large purchase on 36 acres was the way to go. Yikes.

Yes to the Ballerina Farm copycat, minus the funding, but that’s looking better for them now. I hope she can keep it up. It really is sad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to have sympathy for someone like Van der Beek who was a full throated supporter of politicians, like Trump, who actively make healthcare less affordable.

Really?? You can’t have sympathy for him? That’s strange and I’m sad you call yourself a Democrat (I presume).

What’s strange about it? He and his wife are MAGA and actively voted for and promoted politicians who make healthcare less accessible and more expensive for most people. Beyond me why people are glazing him now.

STFU.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it hard to have sympathy for someone like Van der Beek who was a full throated supporter of politicians, like Trump, who actively make healthcare less affordable.

Really?? You can’t have sympathy for him? That’s strange and I’m sad you call yourself a Democrat (I presume).

What’s strange about it? He and his wife are MAGA and actively voted for and promoted politicians who make healthcare less accessible and more expensive for most people. Beyond me why people are glazing him now.

Anonymous wrote:They bought the $4.7M farm within the last month (they’d previously been renting it). Why are they asking us regular folk for money again?

I have not commented on this thread to date and was so sad to hear of his passing. I don't care about the nuances of his treatment or diagnosis or symptoms (though as a 42 year old not getting a colonoscopy for a few years, presumably, a little freaked!) But this is weird and offputting as a middle/UMC person. I'd say they were overleveraged, but they didn't own until a month before he died and splashed out almost 5 mil? Hmm. Were they trying to do some kind of Ballerina Farm big family influencer thing? I just can't imagine being at deaths door with 6 kids and an unemployable wife and thinking a large purchase on 36 acres was the way to go. Yikes.