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Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA handful of celebrities have fiercely defended James Van Der Beek\u2019s family against backlash after a GoFundMe was launched on their behalf to support them in the wake of the actor\u2019s death. <\/p>\n
Following the death of the Dawson\u2019s Creek <\/em>star last Wednesday from stage three colorectal cancer, family friends launched a GoFundMe to support his wife, Kimberly, and their six young children amid the costly medical bills they incurred during his care.<\/p>\nAt the time of writing, the family has raised more than $2.5 million. While the family has received an outpouring of both emotional and financial support from a slew of fans and fellow celebrities \u2014 including director Steven Spielberg, who generously donated $25,000 \u2014 some have questioned the family\u2019s need for financial assistance given Van Der Beek\u2019s fame.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everything is what it looks like online. A little context goes a long way,\u201d Broadway star Donna Vivino wrote Friday on Instagram. \u201cFor those of you attacking James Van Der Beek\u2019s wife for having a GoFundMe may I give you some FACTS?\u201d <\/p>\n
She noted that the \u201cfamily [does] not OWN the farm they live on, they were renting,\u201d and that they were not living off Dawson\u2019s Creek<\/em> residuals.<\/p>\n\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>James Van Der Beek died Wednesday from stage 3 colorectal cancer (Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n