James Van Der Beek Says Weight Loss at ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Reunion ‘Was Not Cancer Related,’ Cries Over Family Getting a Standing Ovation From Fans

James Van Der Beek joined “Today” for a new sit-down TV interview amid his cancer diagnosis and fought through tears as he remembered his family getting a rapturous standing ovation during September’s “Dawson’s Creek” reunion. The actor missed the event after being “hit with some stomach bugs,” but he made a video appearance via Zoom and got to see “Dawnson’s” fans warmly embrace his family members.

“As crushed as I was not being able to go to that ‘Dawson’s Creek’ reunion, my family got to go,” Van Der Beek said. “And I was Zooming in on that night and they got a standing ovation just for taking their seats. And all that love that would have otherwise been directed at me, was directed at my family. It was just one of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever gotten to witness. I’m just so grateful to the fans for doing that.”

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Van Der Beek was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer last year. He sparked concern among fans when he skipped the “Dawson’s Creek” reunion, but he stressed to “Today” co-host Craig Melvin that missing the event was due to a stomach virus and was not directly cancer related. The bug is also why Van Der Beek appeared with such a dramatic weight loss on Zoom at the event, although he assured fans: “I feel much, much better than I did a couple months ago.”

“I’d lost so much weight because of the stomach virus, yeah,” Van Der Beek. “No, it was not cancer related. Although with cancer everything’s like, ‘Why don’t we super-size that stomach virus?'”

The “Dawson’s Creek” reunion was held in September as featured the show’s original cast together for the first time since the series wrapped in 2003. The event, which raised money for F Cancer and Van Der Beek’s own treatment, featured a table read of the show’s 1998 pilot episode. Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp and more all appeared. Lin-Manuel Miranda jumped in to replace Van Der Beek for the script reading.

Watch Van Der Beek’s full interview on “Today” in the video below.