The GoFundMe launched in honour of the late Eric Dane has now been unfrozen after it was briefly put under review.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised for the late actor’s loved ones in wake of his tragic death last Thursday (19 February).
The father-of-two passed away following a ‘courageous battle’ with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder, which causes progressive muscle weakness, in 2024.
Friends of the Dane family told how he became a ‘passionate spokesperson for the ALS community‘ in wake of this, ‘even as his own health declined’.
The organisers of the fundraiser said: “He remained deeply committed to helping others facing the same devastating disease. As his illness progressed far more quickly than anyone could have imagined, Eric’s friends have come together to create this GoFundMe to support his girls and their future needs. Any contribution, no matter the size, will help provide stability during this incredibly difficult time and in the future for Eric’s wonderful daughters.”
The GoFundMe was set up to financially support the late actor’s beloved daughters (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Stars including Hailey Bieber are among those who have made hefty donations. Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and his wife, Ashley Levinson also pledged $27,000.
A longtime pal of the Grey’s Anatomy actor – who shared daughters Billie and Georgia with his wife Rebecca Gayheart, who he split from in 2018 – explained why the page was set up for Dane’s children last week.
In an Instagram post, Mike McGuiness said: “Covid and ALS did a number on his work life and he sadly couldn’t leave his family with the resources he had hoped.
“A GoFundMe is being made and I will post it on my story for anyone able to help.”
The organisers of the fundraiser are listed as ‘Friends of the Dane Family’, although it remains unclear who exactly launched it. It is suspected that McGuiness may have been the person behind it.
On Sunday (22 February), it was announced that the GoFundMe had been put under review as the crowdfunding platform wanted to clarify some ‘additional information’.
Dane played Dr Mark Sloan in Grey’s Anatomy (ABC)
In a statement provided to the San Francisco Chronicle, GoFundMe said: “Our Trust and Safety team is still looking into this GoFundMe and has reached out to the organiser to gather additional information.
“All funds are being safely held by our payment processors during this review process. We can follow up as soon as there is an update available.”
This meant that the fundraiser was temporarily inactive to the public and people were unable to make donations.
Explaining why these reviews occur, GoFundMe’s website states: “GoFundMe works diligently to ensure fundraiser content falls within our Terms of Service.
“If fundraiser content violates our Terms of Service, the fundraiser may be placed under review by GoFundMe.”
Eric Dane pictured with the mother of his children, Rebecca Gayheart, in 2017 (Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
Now, donations are flowing in once again as the fundraiser has now been ‘verified’ and Dane’s widow Rebecca has been made its beneficiary. The actor had been in a relationship with Janell Shirtcliff before to his death.
In a statement, GoFundMe explained that it was standard procedure to press pause on the page while the details were ironed out.
It said: “GoFundMe’s Trust & Safety team was previously working to gather additional information and help ensure the intended beneficiary was added to the fundraiser, as part of our standard review process.
“Donations were safely held by our payment processors during this review process.”
At the time of writing, a whopping $337,847 has been raised for the family of the Euphoria star so far.
LADbible previously contacted the representatives of Eric Dane’s wife Rebecca for comment.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.ladbible.com ’
