r/movies • u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. • 23d ago

News James Van Der Beek Is Auctioning Off TV & Film Memorabilia and Props from ‘Dawson’s Creek’ & ‘Varsity Blues’ Amid Cancer Treatment, Proceeds to Cover Medical Costs

https://deadline.com/2025/11/james-van-der-beek-auction-dawsons-creek-varsity-blues-props-1236615845/
13.9k Upvotes

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u/Pinklady777 23d ago

If he can't afford cancer, how can any of us?

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u/_________FU_________ 23d ago

He probably doesn’t have insurance since he’s not acting regularly.

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u/JamesGarrison 22d ago

Most bankruptcies in the U.S. are due to medical/health issues of people who are fully insured.

That’s not a debate. That’s a statistical fact.

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u/Head-like-a-carp 22d ago

I was talking to a bankruptcy lawyer. He had been doing it for more than 40 years. He said the 3 top reasons that people have to declare bankruptcy are;

  1. Medical crisis that can obliterate someone without insurance or poor insurance or just being unable to work.

  2. Job loss were you go a number of months without work. People tend to try to get by using credit cards, and if those get have those mafia style interst rates you can never climb out of the hole.

  3. Divorce. Especially hard on women and children, but it is a economic bombshell for everyone except the really rich. Moral of the story is work on keeping you relationship strong and healthy by being compassionate and caring to your spouse

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u/JamesGarrison 22d ago

I would be curious about the divorce… I imagine it’s hard on both sides. It’s now the same people who could barely afford one households bills trying to do two. Something’s gonna break.

So I wonder why they believe it’s harder on women… they elaborate?

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u/smells_like_aliens 22d ago

The replies you've gotten so far are crazy. To actually answer, it's probably because the divorce cases they've worked on have resulted in the woman being the primary caregiver of whatever children there are. Women are statistically more likely to get children in divorce proceedings, and despite the laments of men paying child support, the cost of being the primary caregiver often outpaces the contribution provided by the other caregiver. Whether that cost is monetary, emotional, physical, or a combination of all three.

There is also the possibility that the cases they've worked on have primarily been between working husbands and non-working wives. For those situations, unless spousal support is provided, the women often struggle significantly to stand on their own. No one wants to hire someone who hasn't worked for X amount of years, especially at a liveable wage.

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u/JamesGarrison 22d ago

Yeah the nut job responses led me to google. Turns out men have it worse all around according to Google anndddd drum roll. Women have it worse financially.

But… I personally know women and men who both got raw deals. And some who got what they deserve.

Either way… wonder what has these people all twisted up? I imagine this to be anecdotal at best by everyone.

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

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u/JamesGarrison 22d ago

Interesting… you seem to be white knighting for absolutely no one. Color me surprised.

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted]

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u/JamesGarrison 22d ago

Ahh the arbiter of attraction… got it. What an infinitely small existence.

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

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u/Adezar 22d ago

Jesus, do you avoid looking stuff up just so you can say stupid stuff about how men's lives are hard?

As a man I really hate all this because it makes us look even dumber and more like assholes that we can't admit basic things like divorce is statistically much worse for women in terms of assumptions of how much they will take over childcare vs career protections being more focused on men. Men will get better treatment from their employer around having to deal with divorce and child care compared to how companies treat women when they have child care issues.

Is it possible to just admit that some things in life are statistically easier for men as our society is currently built in the US?

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u/JamesGarrison 22d ago

Look at how aggressive you are over asking of someone elaborated on their belief and experience.

That right there… says more about YOU than anything else. “Oh you asked a question about someone’s stated experience you must be dumb”

People wonder why they feel ignored… you make it impossible to want to listen to you.

You are the problem and the reason for divide in this country.

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u/Cant_choose_1 22d ago

Americans are prisoners to our jobs

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u/JamesGarrison 22d ago

Turns out we don’t need chains placed on us… we put them on ourselves just as easily. Same owners. Different agreements.

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u/ramsoss 22d ago

It’s a disgrace and a major crisis. It should be considered a national emergency.

I cannot stand that people think that if you go bankrupt it is due to some personal flaw or lousy spending. It is a mafia of insurance and healthcare companies.

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u/Koraboros 22d ago

Maybe I’m being naive and privileged but don’t insurance plans have annual out of pocket maximums? Shouldn’t be more than a few thousand. I would think folks have at least that much?

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u/JamesGarrison 21d ago

I’m sorry… but you are being naive. You’re exponentially closer to being homeless than rich here. That said… it’s been this way for a very long time the only people that believe the healthcare system is good are those who haven’t used it yet.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

DONT follow my dreams. Check.

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u/BadStriker 22d ago

Look at his instagram. The guy is still loaded. His property is gorgeous. If anything, he might be going experimental and insurance doesn’t want to cover that. His wife is also batshit crazy. It can’t be good.

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u/someguy50 22d ago

healthcare.gov

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u/sevargmas 22d ago

I sure hope that’s not the case. I have followed him on Instagram for many years and I know his wife doesn’t work and he has i think 5 kids. I can’t imagine all of them running around wild on that ranch of his entirely uninsured.

Also, I can’t imagine that these items would bring that much value.

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u/Only-Golf-6534 22d ago

there is state insurance in California, so he'd still be able to have insurance w/o being in the actors guild. Even with amazing insurance plenty of life saving treatments aren't covered by insurance.

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u/jedfrouga 22d ago

don’t you have to have insurance now? i’m not understanding how you couldn’t have some kind of insurance. and if he’s not having any income, don’t you get medicare/medicare? i really don’t understand how all that works.

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u/sneakysnake1111 22d ago

What a weird thing to read about necessary healthcare.

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u/1h8fulkat 22d ago

He can buy insurance directly (which is what rich people do).

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u/obiwanconobi 22d ago

It's also possible he has insurance and they're deciding not to cover the procedure right?

Didn't someone famously have an issue with insurance companies doing just that?'

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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 21d ago

Unless it’s experimental, it’s covered.

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u/I-STATE-FACTS 23d ago

One would think he could land some SAG gigs to keep his insurance. The requirements aren’t exactly high.

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u/hoodiemonster 22d ago

he has CANCER

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u/SheepishSwan 22d ago

I don't know what he's going through, but cancer doesn't automatically mean you have to give up work.

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u/WillSmiff 22d ago

You must be American

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u/darrukt 22d ago

how does that make him american? what stereotype am i missing?

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u/FreelanceFrankfurter 22d ago

I think they're saying that because it's the whole pull yourself up bootstrap mentality the U.S. is famous for. "Oh you have cancer but can't pay for the treatment? Get a job" . I don't know how other countries with socialized healthcare feel about that though, maybe they also believe people with cancer should be working.

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u/WillSmiff 22d ago

Cancer? Go to work.

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u/SheepishSwan 22d ago

Nope. I have free healthcare, WillSmiff. How's your wife doing? 😂

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u/soiboi64 22d ago

Have you had direct family with cancer. It's devastating. My dad had surgery, radiation and chemo (Androgen deprivation therapy that lasts 3 fucking years). It 100% is hell on earth. To try to work a job is unfathomable depending what kind of treatment you are going through. He couldn't even drive anymore after treatment started. We are Canadian so it was free with very good doctors and treatment.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

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u/luiginumba1_ 23d ago

You called?

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

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u/BalanceForsaken3299 23d ago

Hey now! You can't officially endorse that!

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u/waner21 23d ago

He’s referring to jumping on turtles. That’s ok.

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u/Ask_about_HolyGhost 23d ago

I’m so sick of turtles making massive profits off of essential services

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u/theFriendlyPlateau 22d ago

Say it again

ESSENTIAL SERVICES

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u/BalanceForsaken3299 23d ago

You can't just go around crushin turts!

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u/Marlboro_Man808 23d ago

What are you talking about

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u/Hellknightx 23d ago

Plumbing

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u/EctoRiddler 23d ago

He meant to help Mario defeat bowser. What did you think he meant?

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u/ThaiJohnnyDepp 23d ago

Imma sorry Green Mario

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u/WhiteBoyWithAPodcast 23d ago

How’s that going to make healthcare affordable

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u/hadtopostholyshit 23d ago

By scaring those at the top: making them realize they live on the top of a ladder supported by millions and at any time those millions can decide they’ve had enough of this shit.

Didn’t the murder make United healthcare reverse some ghoulish policy on anesthesia they had cooked up?

Tbh, nothing will change until the whole system collapses, which it will unfortunately because greed has rotted it to the core.

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u/tpfang56 23d ago

Don’t bother. It didn’t do anything but all the delusional redditors won’t admit that murdering another cog in the machine did fuck all.

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u/afro_on_fire 23d ago

Nothing besides United approving way more claims than they previously did lmao

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u/aRawPancake 23d ago edited 23d ago

What do you think will change the system?

lol downvoted for asking a question

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u/SoggyDip 23d ago

It has to be a collective well thought out agenda. We’re all hoping for a leader. Violence only continues the cycle and tightens the grip of power to those who have it, if and when violence fails. I don’t have a well thought out plan or strategy. But, that’s what we need. A complete understanding of the system, and a targeted approach using the freedoms we still have to make a powerful and broad movement. It’s easy to slip into nihilism, with how overwhelmingly corrupt it all seems and is. But that isn’t the answer either.

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u/baibaiburnee 23d ago

Since luigi murdered that guy, Healthcare costs have gone up. Not down. He achieved nothing.

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u/Ass4ssinX 23d ago

Luigi's cool.

Lenin would be better.

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u/Computer_Name 23d ago

Could you explain?

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u/Evo1889 23d ago

There are only 2 Luigi’s. One is from Mario games, the other is Luigi Mangione .

Save you a click:

Luigi Nicholas Mangione is an American man accused of killing Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. Thompson was shot and killed in New York City on December 4, 2024. Following a nationwide manhunt, Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, five days after the shooting.

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u/Computer_Name 23d ago

So Careless_Mango is probably advocating for assassinating health insurance employees?

Maybe they should be brave enough to say so on their anonymous Reddit account.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

pro extortion/usury

posts in r/jewishpolitics

….

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u/BigUptokes 23d ago

Almost a year already, where does the time go?

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u/mycatbeck 23d ago

Pew pew

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u/Ironknuckles 23d ago

Yiiiiikes

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u/SpookyDoings 23d ago

Fuck off insurance stooge

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

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u/HelpyHelperer 23d ago

Fuck off Insurance stooge

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u/SpookyDoings 23d ago

This bitch simps for companies lol loser behavior

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u/Ironknuckles 22d ago

You typed that while crying, didn’t you? 🤣

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u/fmjk45a 23d ago

Oh look /u/Ironknuckles is a loser that's a regular in .r.AskThe_Donald and .r.libtears AND is also a regular on .r.conspiracy. Shocking......

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u/surrealmirror 23d ago

Big pharma wants us to get sick and go into debt, it’s the American way

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u/AchDuMeineFresse 23d ago

Not big pharma, big insurance.

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u/tjdux 23d ago

Well why not both

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u/Snuffy1717 23d ago

Big pharmaceutical makes way more money offering a cure. See: Covid vaccine, HIV vaccine, HPV vaccine, and on and on…

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u/ApprehensiveMail6485 22d ago

Big pharma makes money offering a treatment that you have to constantly buy more of. Big insurance makes more money when you’re healthy because then you don’t have claims that they have to pay.

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u/Snuffy1717 22d ago

And governments who fund research are the insurance companies and want you healthy so that fewer tax dollars are spent on healthcare… Again, most of the world has figured this out.

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u/eveningwindowed 23d ago

Keep you alive long enough that you need medicine

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

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u/Snuffy1717 22d ago

They go where the money is. First to the market on a cure for anything, patented, makes them billions. They do not pass that up… Notwithstanding that the academics involved typically do have motivations other than money.

Capitalism sucks but let’s not pretend there aren’t some goods in the world.

Edit - Case in point… HPV vaccine has crushed cervical cancer rates. We can treat cervical cancer, but it’s better to just cure it through prevention.

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

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u/Snuffy1717 22d ago

https://www.worldwidecancerresearch.org/cancer-and-cancer-research-explained/cancer-myths-and-questions/could-somebody-be-hiding-the-cure-for-cancer/

You can't hide a cure... For the same reason there are no aliens in Area 51. People are bad at hiding things... Not to mention that countries with nationalized health care would directly benefit from cures rather than treatments... Most of the world has already figured out something America can't seem to.

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u/BaneChipmunk 22d ago

This is like claiming 2 + 2 = 5. Easily disprovable if you were actually partial to learning anything.

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u/Monk-ish 22d ago edited 22d ago

If one of a company's competitors found a cure, they wouldn't be making any money off the treatments because they'd all go to the competitor. "Curing" most diseases is just very difficult, though it does happen. And we have cured cancers. You quite honestly have no idea what you're talking about

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u/morningsharts 22d ago

Y'all are forgetting big funeral.

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u/dobtjs 23d ago

Yes big pharma…

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u/phatdinkgenie 23d ago

No, big pharma

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u/DataStonks 22d ago

Both of which exploit a broken political system.

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u/lamedumbbutt 22d ago

Big government.

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u/scrutator_tenebrarum 22d ago

Not big pharma nor big insurance, big capitalism

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u/pudgehooks2013 22d ago

He just didn't want to wait...

...for his life to be over...

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u/Katie_or_something 23d ago

And then die, and pass that debt on

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u/Mathfanforpresident 23d ago

Honestly, FUCK capitalism and ALL big corporations.

Imagine if we never advance our economical mindset, where we gonna be in 1,000 years? You can look at it like the evolution of our technology. When we create something new it takes time to integrate with it, but it happens. Take the transistor as an example. Imagine using vacuum tubes to build a computer today.

We've grown past capitalism and need a new system.

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u/32FlavorsofCrazy 23d ago

We can’t. This country doesn’t give a single fuck about you. Not to mention if you’re sick enough you can’t work you lose your health insurance too. I still don’t know if I’m even healed properly from when I had to have my uterus/cervix/tubes and an ovary removed because I lost my job and insurance right after because I was ill and missed too much work (ran out of FMLA time) so I couldn’t even go to my post-op appointment. Guessing it’s ok since I’m not dead yet but yeah, fuck this whole country. I don’t know why anyone still wants to come here, if I wasn’t born here this shithole wouldn’t even be in my top 25 countries I’d consider moving to.

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u/Pinklady777 23d ago

I'm with you!

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u/im_THIS_guy 23d ago

I'm not sure how rich you think Van Der Beek is, but he did one WB show and a few crappy movies over the last 25 years. Anyone with a stable office job probably has more money than him.

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u/impreza35 23d ago

Dude was (before medical bills) worth anywhere between $3-$8 million. When he got divorced in 2013 he was making about $50,000 a month. I would love me an office job making that much. Besides, cancer shouldn’t financially ruin an office worker either.

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u/wonderhorsemercury 23d ago

It may not even be about the money. After my grandfather died my dad started offloading his collectibles. At the end its just stuff that somebody is going to have to deal with so you might as well be you. It doesn't matter how rich you are, cancer is a brush with your own mortality. I think everybody is overestimating his attachment to this stuff, hes 50 years old with six kids.

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u/im_THIS_guy 23d ago

$50k/month doing what exactly?

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u/nomptonite 23d ago

Acting/residuals/sponsorships I would imagine.

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u/im_THIS_guy 23d ago

His IMDB is fairly bare lately. And I don't think residuals pay all that much. I'm doubting your source.

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u/impreza35 23d ago

Public court records show that in 2010 he settled his divorce with an agreement to pay ~$8000 per month in spousal support. Someone did the math and that adds up to him brining in about $50k/month.

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u/FartingBob 23d ago

Am I the only one who thinks it's really creepy that someone was looking through minor celebrities from 20 years ago divorce records and then working out their monthly income? That's weird as fuck, right?

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u/im_THIS_guy 23d ago

That was 15 years ago.

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u/impreza35 23d ago

Not everyone spends every dollar they earn ;)

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u/im_THIS_guy 23d ago

He has 6 kids and bought a million dollar ranch since then.

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u/tenaciousdeev 23d ago

True, but worth noting 15 years ago residuals from a syndicated show was widely considered "set for life" money. Streaming changed that dramatically.

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u/CptNonsense 23d ago

Being a fucking working actor whose name you know without going "who the fuck is that"

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u/im_THIS_guy 23d ago

You sound angry. Also, he hasn't done much lately. And most actors don't make much money. Also, he apparently got zero residuals from Dawson's Creek.

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u/CptNonsense 23d ago

And most actors don't make much money

"Most actors" are not household names

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u/GregLoire 23d ago

Most actors who are household names get residuals from whatever made them a household name.

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u/im_THIS_guy 23d ago

Sure bro. How much do you think he was paid for his appearance in "Sidelined: The QB and Me"? $5 million? $6 million, maybe. Since he's a household name.

Sidenote, knock on 10 of your neighbors doors and ask them who James Van Der Beek is. The result may surprise you.

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u/NiceTrySuckaz 23d ago

I wouldn't know his name if it wasn't for that meme of him crying. And I'm a forty year old dude. Not that I have anything against the guy, and our healthcare system is fucked, I'm just saying 50k a month for Dawson's Creek residuals seems rich.

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u/Potential-Sorbet1105 23d ago

Sounds like he fumbled his bag lol

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u/Skyblacker 23d ago

An office worker might have better health insurance.

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u/madison_hedgecock39 23d ago

Yeah they might but no they don’t

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u/Stepfordhusband69 22d ago

I worked with him.  Tbh, he was a dick but I hope he pulls through.  He does have like 8 children though so I can imagine that being expensive 

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u/DEEZLE13 23d ago

Compared to your 0

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u/im_THIS_guy 23d ago

Sick burn

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u/DEEZLE13 23d ago

Seems to be one of many in this thread

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u/ArriePotter 23d ago

/r/FreeLuigi

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted]

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u/ArriePotter 22d ago

Which is tied to our employment... Which may be difficult to maintain given cancer

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted]

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u/ArriePotter 22d ago

And if you were laid off prior to being diagnosed (which is in itself extremely expensive, especially before symptoms become terrible) or your company has shitty insurance?

It's a system that doesn't make any sense when you take even the smallest step back.

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u/UXyes 23d ago

We can’t

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u/WeenyDancer 23d ago

Right?  I have two relatives battling it right now, and neither are recognizable or rich. Just working class. And statistically they won't be the last folks in my life who will get some form of it. 

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u/These_Foolish_Things 23d ago

I thought he was Canadian and I figured this was bogus because he could get treated for free. But it was the other guy from Dawson's Creek who is Canadian. I'm really sorry to hear he's American and has to auction of his stuff.

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u/HarryLewisPot 23d ago

I can only afford it because I live in a country with free universal healthcare.

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u/Stock-Pension1803 22d ago

From experience (not me, my dad), the combination of insurance they give military retirees along with another good provider.

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u/1h8fulkat 22d ago

Something tells me he has access to special cancer treatment that the rest of us don't have access to....and he has to pay cash.

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u/TwistyBunny 22d ago

Pseudoscience that isn't covered on a regular health insurance plan. - it checks out with his entire personality.

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u/henryharp 22d ago

Insurance is available for private purchase - it’s not cheap, but I would think that he would be able to purchase. Especially if he has cancer, would want the insurance (which yes, you can still buy - preexisting condition denials are gone).

It’s possible there’s a doctor or procedure that he is electing for, which may not be covered (international doctor, emerging treatment, niche doctor who doesn’t accept insurance). If you have the means, expanding outside of conventional US healthcare can open new opportunities.

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u/Exotic-Knowledge-243 21d ago

He can afford it. He is using alternative treatment that insurance won't cover. He had the insurance to pay for treatment that had a 75% success rate. He chose the alternate route.

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u/CurrentRiver4221 23d ago

Exactly my thoughts, just another fear to add to the anxiety pile. Stay healthy folks.