‘Law & Order’ Star Calls out Those Scrutinizing James Van Der Beek’s Family Finances After Millions Raised

Mehcad Brooks is defending the family of his late friend, James Van Der Beek, following the Dawson’s Creek actor’s death on Feb. 11 at the age of 48.

The Law & Order actor took to Threads on Sunday to defend the GoFundMe set up to benefit Van Der Beek’s wife and six kids, as they were left “out of funds” following his battle with colorectal cancer. As of Thursday, the GoFundMe has raised more than $2.6 million.

Brooks responded to a Threads user who had shared a headline saying that Van Der Beek had purchased a $4.8 million home in Texas in January before he died, commenting, “This doesn’t sit right with me. Not at all.”

“Sure, I get it,” the user continued. “But thousands of people around the world face this exact situation every day and deal with the struggle. They don’t get $2.5 million. It’s just weird. He had to have had life insurance … and residual checks …”

Brooks was quick to respond, writing back, “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.”

He continued, “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. It’s ok not to try to seek attention off of other people’s suffering or the generosity in response to it. 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.”

Van Der Beek’s rep has since clarified in a statement to PEOPLE that the actor had secured a down payment for his family’s Texas ranch “with the help of friends through a trust so they could shift from rent to mortgage.”

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Three days prior to his post on Threads, Brooks had paid tribute to the Varsity Blues actor following his death. “One of the greatest honors of my life is to call @vanderjames my brother. It cannot be understated how much impact this man had on the world, particularly those who knew him closely. He was and always will be an angel among us,” the And Just Like That actor wrote on Instagram.

“I was with him for the last four days,” he continued. “He handled the transition from flesh and blood, earth and bone to air and spirit, energy and soul like a true King.”

“James truly impacted me in such a unique and special way that I’d be on this phone all day trying to explain it to you all,” Brooks added. “And that will come. Right now I just want to put my condolences out there. I’m heartbroken.”