In the wake of Eric Dane’s death on Feb. 19, there’s been an outpouring of tributes from friends and co-stars, and also generous donations to a GoFundMe campaign billed to raise funds for his teenage daughters. Now, the fundraiser is under review, with questions over the organisers and who will receive the proceeds, San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The campaign, titled “In the Honor of Eric Dane,” was organised by a group calling itself “Friends of the Dane Family,” and bills itself as a fundraiser created to “support his girls and their future needs.” Its stated goal is to raise $500,000 for his daughters, Billie, 15, and Georgia, 14. As of Sunday, nearly $300,000 has been raised from around 2,700 donors.
The company confirmed that the campaign is being reviewed. “Our Trust and Safety team is still looking into this GoFundMe and has reached out to the organiser to gather additional information,” a spokesperson said in a statement to the Chronicle. “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.”
The focus of the review is scrutiny over the organiser — the campaign doesn’t include a specific individual tied to the fundraiser nor has GoFundMe confirmed that proceeds would benefit Dane’s family. Reps for the Dane family have not publicly commented on the campaign.
One individual, Mike McGuiness, said he was Dane’s friend for “almost two decades” and provided a link to the GoFundMe in his Instagram story. According to the Chronicle, he wrote, “Covid and ALS did a number on his work life and he sadly couldn’t leave his family with the resources he had hoped,” McGuiness wrote. “A GoFundMe is being made and I will post it on my story for anyone able to help.” As of Sunday, that verbiage has since been deleted. His name does not appear on the GoFundMe campaign, and the company has not confirmed his involvement.
Among the notable donors to the GoFundMe campaign are Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and his wife, Ashley Levinson, who contributed $27,000.
Dane, who starred in Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria, died Thursday following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was 53.
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