Mehcad Brooks, actor and friend of late “Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek, defended the GoFundMe his family created to help raise financial support, slamming critics for speaking with no background knowledge.
“I am one of the Van Der Beek’s closet friends and the headlines are fake AF you have no idea wtf you’re talking about,” Brooks said in a Threads post on Sunday. The “Supergirl” actor commented under a post of a user who was slamming the GoFundMe as “weird” in response to a TMZ report that Van Der Beek purchased a $4.7 million home in Texas a month prior to his death.
“You have no idea the pain they went through. It’s ok to stfu when you can’t know what the f—k you’re talking about,” Brooks said, alluding to the idea that the Threads user is ignorant to the Van Der Beek family’s personal matters.
“It’s ok not to try to seek attention off of other people’s suffering or the generosity in response to it,” Brooks said as he concluded his message. “Because James touched them for decades. It’s ok for you to stay quiet in the face of blind stupidity, meanness and lack of empathy. But maybe you’re not okay.”
The Van Der Beek family posted the GoFundMe on Feb. 11, stating that in the wake of this loss, Beek’s wife and children “are facing an uncertain future.”
“The costs of James’s medical care and the extended fight against cancer have left the family out of funds,” the fund’s description reads. “They are working hard to stay in their home and to ensure the children can continue their education and maintain some stability during this incredibly difficult time. The support of friends, family, and the wider community will make a world of difference as they navigate the road ahead.”
Van Der Beek died on Feb. 11 at age 48. The actor had publicly been battling colorectal cancer since November 2024 following his initial diagnosis in August 2023.
