Anonymous
02/15/2026 14:02
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s sad that people feel the need to comment continually on the go fund me after his death. If you don’t want to donate you don’t have to. You aren’t going to change anyone’s mind with your constant rants over it either. Get a life!
I see this type of response a lot on social media over this. Its not so much about the van der beeks, its more about a ridiculous donation culture that needs to be called out where people are using gofundme as a way to take financial short cuts, taking advantage of people in the process.
Its just like calling out that the absurdity that tipping culture has become. If we stay silent the problem becomes more widespread.
Get real. If your spouse has to die very young to “cut a financial shortcut” that sounds like a pretty shit deal. You should be so lucky, right? I’d rather have decades to work and save than have one of our lives cut short. You lack perspective on this.
I would not expect other people to pay my living expenses so that I can hang on to a multi million dollar net worth. Its on me to help myself until I am not longer able to so so, then ask for help.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 13:50
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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?
Is that really true? That's actually kind of infuriating to be asking for donations if that's true. Ugh.
DP That's what is being reported on TMZ
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/13/james-van-der-beek-purchased-texas-ranch-before-dying/
The ranch is a massive 36 acres with a 5,149-square-foot main house that features 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms. There's also cabins and a pool on the ranch, plus sweeping views of the Pedernales River.
Ffs. People dumb enough to donate, whatever.
Until he got sick, why wasn't he churning out Hallmark Channel movies? He would have made bank and his widow wouldn't have needed to grift. As it was, he barely worked for 20 years and she didn't work at all. And now people are paying her millions to live a lavish lifestyle? Okay.
Exactly. There’s no reason why he and his wife couldn’t get normal jobs and live in a normal sized house like the majority of the US. He had a better start than most people.
Get a normal job……like you? Is that what’s bothering you so much?
Nothing about this seems off to you? Asking the public for money to fund an affluent lifestyle is perfectly normal and acceptable?
Corporations and politicians do it every day.
Can you provide an example where a corporation or politician is asking for money to openly fund their personal lifestyle expenses while simultaneously offering nothing in return?
I’m sorry, your problem is that they’re doing it openly?
Anonymous
02/15/2026 13:47
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s sad that people feel the need to comment continually on the go fund me after his death. If you don’t want to donate you don’t have to. You aren’t going to change anyone’s mind with your constant rants over it either. Get a life!
I see this type of response a lot on social media over this. Its not so much about the van der beeks, its more about a ridiculous donation culture that needs to be called out where people are using gofundme as a way to take financial short cuts, taking advantage of people in the process.
Its just like calling out that the absurdity that tipping culture has become. If we stay silent the problem becomes more widespread.
Get real. If your spouse has to die very young to “cut a financial shortcut” that sounds like a pretty shit deal. You should be so lucky, right? I’d rather have decades to work and save than have one of our lives cut short. You lack perspective on this.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 13:43
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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?
Is that really true? That's actually kind of infuriating to be asking for donations if that's true. Ugh.
DP That's what is being reported on TMZ
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/13/james-van-der-beek-purchased-texas-ranch-before-dying/
The ranch is a massive 36 acres with a 5,149-square-foot main house that features 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms. There's also cabins and a pool on the ranch, plus sweeping views of the Pedernales River.
Ffs. People dumb enough to donate, whatever.
Until he got sick, why wasn't he churning out Hallmark Channel movies? He would have made bank and his widow wouldn't have needed to grift. As it was, he barely worked for 20 years and she didn't work at all. And now people are paying her millions to live a lavish lifestyle? Okay.
Exactly. There’s no reason why he and his wife couldn’t get normal jobs and live in a normal sized house like the majority of the US. He had a better start than most people.
Get a normal job……like you? Is that what’s bothering you so much?
NP: do you think it is wise planning to have no income and no plan for income with 6 kids and an unemployed spouse?
Well, he wasn’t educated and probably didn’t have a normal upbringing.
But yes, most adults should realize that it’s wise to live below your means while socking away money in case life throws you a curveball.
If someone offered me $4M for a house, I’d probably tap $1M and invest the rest.
And as someone with a stressful white collar job with relentless hours, I’m fairly annoyed when a family launches a Go Fund Me or begs more stable relatives for money when the sole provider dies AND the SAHM wants to continue being a SAHM. It’s one thing to ask for help to cover a transition back to the workforce; it’s quite another story when the person never envisions working (ever).
I know women who simply got divorced and had the same expectation of never working. I’m still baffled by women in their 50s and 60s who tell people they are SAHMs…when their kids launched many, many years ago.
It’s obviously sad, but he knew he was sick for a while. If Tori Spelling can downsize to a small place with her brood, then surely anyone can.
And where are the grandparents?
Define normal upbringing. James' father was an executive in the telephone industry, and mom was a dancer and gymnastic teacher. He graduated from Cheshire Academy a college prep private school in Connecticut. The current tuition, room and board is over $69. His alma mater is Drew University, a small Methodist affiliated university. I would not say he was uneducated.
My spouse and my kid both graduated from Drew so I know that Van Der Beek did not - he left when he got the Dawson’s Creek job and never went back. They were all unknown teens so they got sh!tty contracts, the show didn’t last more than five seasons so they didn’t have the opportunity to sign new more lucrative contracts, and apparently they have never received residuals from that show. In a just world Sony Pictures Studios would have covered the costs of his treatment as a thank you for making them the tens of millions the show has made and no one would be in this predicament. I never watched the show but have always thought JVDB seemed like a decent guy (some Drew bias here admittedly) but it seems they made some really poor choices along the way and the GFM is really tacky (as are almost all GFMs IMO.)
Anonymous
02/15/2026 13:35
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:What bothers everyone about the gofundme, is it was very calculated. It went up quickly after he passed and was obviously intended to grab people while they were emotional. And then to find out about the ranch. The timing of that purchase was also very calculated. And he played on his friends emotional vulnerabilities to make it happen. People feel played. Is it a grift? You have to decide for yourself
Totally agree. A grift imo. Why didn’t they disclose the purchase before they asked for money. I would totally ask for my money back if I had donated.
You would never have donated in the first place though. I seriously doubt any of the donators care that they purchased the ranch a month before he died. All the articles say their friends helped them anyway and now James is dead. People still want to donate. Leave it alone.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 13:31
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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?
Is that really true? That's actually kind of infuriating to be asking for donations if that's true. Ugh.
DP That's what is being reported on TMZ
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/13/james-van-der-beek-purchased-texas-ranch-before-dying/
The ranch is a massive 36 acres with a 5,149-square-foot main house that features 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms. There's also cabins and a pool on the ranch, plus sweeping views of the Pedernales River.
Ffs. People dumb enough to donate, whatever.
Until he got sick, why wasn't he churning out Hallmark Channel movies? He would have made bank and his widow wouldn't have needed to grift. As it was, he barely worked for 20 years and she didn't work at all. And now people are paying her millions to live a lavish lifestyle? Okay.
Exactly. There’s no reason why he and his wife couldn’t get normal jobs and live in a normal sized house like the majority of the US. He had a better start than most people.
Get a normal job……like you? Is that what’s bothering you so much?
Nothing about this seems off to you? Asking the public for money to fund an affluent lifestyle is perfectly normal and acceptable?
Corporations and politicians do it every day.
Can you provide an example where a corporation or politician is asking for money to openly fund their personal lifestyle expenses while simultaneously offering nothing in return?
Sitting POTUS.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 12:55
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:What bothers everyone about the gofundme, is it was very calculated. It went up quickly after he passed and was obviously intended to grab people while they were emotional. And then to find out about the ranch. The timing of that purchase was also very calculated. And he played on his friends emotional vulnerabilities to make it happen. People feel played. Is it a grift? You have to decide for yourself
Totally agree. A grift imo. Why didn’t they disclose the purchase before they asked for money. I would totally ask for my money back if I had donated.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 12:45
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:It’s sad that people feel the need to comment continually on the go fund me after his death. If you don’t want to donate you don’t have to. You aren’t going to change anyone’s mind with your constant rants over it either. Get a life!
I see this type of response a lot on social media over this. Its not so much about the van der beeks, its more about a ridiculous donation culture that needs to be called out where people are using gofundme as a way to take financial short cuts, taking advantage of people in the process.
Its just like calling out that the absurdity that tipping culture has become. If we stay silent the problem becomes more widespread.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 12:36
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:It’s sad that people feel the need to comment continually on the go fund me after his death. If you don’t want to donate you don’t have to. You aren’t going to change anyone’s mind with your constant rants over it either. Get a life!
Imagine…ranting over the ridiculousness of someone else’s rant. Can you imagine
Anonymous
02/15/2026 12:14
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
It’s sad that people feel the need to comment continually on the go fund me after his death. If you don’t want to donate you don’t have to. You aren’t going to change anyone’s mind with your constant rants over it either. Get a life!
Anonymous
02/15/2026 11:46
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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?
Is that really true? That's actually kind of infuriating to be asking for donations if that's true. Ugh.
DP That's what is being reported on TMZ
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/13/james-van-der-beek-purchased-texas-ranch-before-dying/
The ranch is a massive 36 acres with a 5,149-square-foot main house that features 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms. There's also cabins and a pool on the ranch, plus sweeping views of the Pedernales River.
Ffs. People dumb enough to donate, whatever.
Until he got sick, why wasn't he churning out Hallmark Channel movies? He would have made bank and his widow wouldn't have needed to grift. As it was, he barely worked for 20 years and she didn't work at all. And now people are paying her millions to live a lavish lifestyle? Okay.
Exactly. There’s no reason why he and his wife couldn’t get normal jobs and live in a normal sized house like the majority of the US. He had a better start than most people.
Get a normal job……like you? Is that what’s bothering you so much?
NP: do you think it is wise planning to have no income and no plan for income with 6 kids and an unemployed spouse?
Well, he wasn’t educated and probably didn’t have a normal upbringing.
But yes, most adults should realize that it’s wise to live below your means while socking away money in case life throws you a curveball.
If someone offered me $4M for a house, I’d probably tap $1M and invest the rest.
And as someone with a stressful white collar job with relentless hours, I’m fairly annoyed when a family launches a Go Fund Me or begs more stable relatives for money when the sole provider dies AND the SAHM wants to continue being a SAHM. It’s one thing to ask for help to cover a transition back to the workforce; it’s quite another story when the person never envisions working (ever).
I know women who simply got divorced and had the same expectation of never working. I’m still baffled by women in their 50s and 60s who tell people they are SAHMs…when their kids launched many, many years ago.
It’s obviously sad, but he knew he was sick for a while. If Tori Spelling can downsize to a small place with her brood, then surely anyone can.
And where are the grandparents?
Define normal upbringing. James' father was an executive in the telephone industry, and mom was a dancer and gymnastic teacher. He graduated from Cheshire Academy a college prep private school in Connecticut. The current tuition, room and board is over $69. His alma mater is Drew University, a small Methodist affiliated university. I would not say he was uneducated.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 11:36
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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?
Is that really true? That's actually kind of infuriating to be asking for donations if that's true. Ugh.
DP That's what is being reported on TMZ
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/13/james-van-der-beek-purchased-texas-ranch-before-dying/
The ranch is a massive 36 acres with a 5,149-square-foot main house that features 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms. There's also cabins and a pool on the ranch, plus sweeping views of the Pedernales River.
Ffs. People dumb enough to donate, whatever.
Until he got sick, why wasn't he churning out Hallmark Channel movies? He would have made bank and his widow wouldn't have needed to grift. As it was, he barely worked for 20 years and she didn't work at all. And now people are paying her millions to live a lavish lifestyle? Okay.
Exactly. There’s no reason why he and his wife couldn’t get normal jobs and live in a normal sized house like the majority of the US. He had a better start than most people.
Get a normal job……like you? Is that what’s bothering you so much?
Nothing about this seems off to you? Asking the public for money to fund an affluent lifestyle is perfectly normal and acceptable?
Corporations and politicians do it every day.
Can you provide an example where a corporation or politician is asking for money to openly fund their personal lifestyle expenses while simultaneously offering nothing in return?
Anonymous
02/15/2026 11:31
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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?
Is that really true? That's actually kind of infuriating to be asking for donations if that's true. Ugh.
DP That's what is being reported on TMZ
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/13/james-van-der-beek-purchased-texas-ranch-before-dying/
The ranch is a massive 36 acres with a 5,149-square-foot main house that features 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms. There's also cabins and a pool on the ranch, plus sweeping views of the Pedernales River.
Ffs. People dumb enough to donate, whatever.
Until he got sick, why wasn't he churning out Hallmark Channel movies? He would have made bank and his widow wouldn't have needed to grift. As it was, he barely worked for 20 years and she didn't work at all. And now people are paying her millions to live a lavish lifestyle? Okay.
Exactly. There’s no reason why he and his wife couldn’t get normal jobs and live in a normal sized house like the majority of the US. He had a better start than most people.
Get a normal job……like you? Is that what’s bothering you so much?
NP: do you think it is wise planning to have no income and no plan for income with 6 kids and an unemployed spouse?
It bothers me to tell people you are broke when you’ve made the decision not to work for 20 years at any job. They mislead people. I could care less that they didn’t work, but then don’t ask for money.
The person I responded to was asking someone else if what bothers them is that he didn’t get a normal job like the non famous public. The answer is it bothers us they didn’t make a plan except to ask friends for a downpayment and then her plan is to ask strangers for $.
Anonymous
02/15/2026 11:30
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:So the latest is that his friends paid for a down payment on the ranch. So how does one secure a mortgage on a 5 million dollar ranch with no income or assets?!? Did they commit mortgage fraud?
They may still own the place in CA, with the rental income being used to cover mortgage payments. But they’re now “house poor” because they also need to feed the kids.
Two point six million go fund dollars does not equate to poor
Anonymous
02/15/2026 11:27
Subject: James Van der beek died! 48 yo :(
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote: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?
Is that really true? That's actually kind of infuriating to be asking for donations if that's true. Ugh.
DP That's what is being reported on TMZ
https://www.tmz.com/2026/02/13/james-van-der-beek-purchased-texas-ranch-before-dying/
The ranch is a massive 36 acres with a 5,149-square-foot main house that features 5 bedrooms and three bathrooms. There's also cabins and a pool on the ranch, plus sweeping views of the Pedernales River.
Ffs. People dumb enough to donate, whatever.
Until he got sick, why wasn't he churning out Hallmark Channel movies? He would have made bank and his widow wouldn't have needed to grift. As it was, he barely worked for 20 years and she didn't work at all. And now people are paying her millions to live a lavish lifestyle? Okay.
Exactly. There’s no reason why he and his wife couldn’t get normal jobs and live in a normal sized house like the majority of the US. He had a better start than most people.
Get a normal job……like you? Is that what’s bothering you so much?
NP: do you think it is wise planning to have no income and no plan for income with 6 kids and an unemployed spouse?
It bothers me to tell people you are broke when you’ve made the decision not to work for 20 years at any job. They mislead people. I could care less that they didn’t work, but then don’t ask for money.