James Van Der Beek Sues Sirius XM Over Dropping His $700,000 Podcast Deal

James Van Der Beekis suing Sirius XM over a podcast deal, which was supposed to guarantee him three-quarters of a million dollars.

According to new legal documents, obtained by The Blast, the 'Dawson's Creek' star is upset with the satellite radio giant and a podcast company for promising him a massive deal, and pulling the plug before it even got started.

In the filing, Van Der Beek claims he negotiated with the companies based on his success as an actor and interesting life as a father of six. "In late 2021, (James) began to pursue an opportunity for creating a podcast based on his longstanding acting career, onscreen characters, and life as a husband and father of six. He would serve as the podcast's host, conduct interviews, provide commentary and behind-the-scenes insight on past work, and share the kind of unique perspective as an artist, seeker, and public figure that has become the hallmark of his social media presence," he began.

The actor continued, "This was a lucrative business opportunity that undoubtedly would have been a huge commercial success, given his worldwide fanbase.

The 'Varsity Blues' star says his team negotiated a deal with Sirius XM and a company called 'Stitcher' for a guaranteed $700,000 for 40 episodes of the podcast.

But, the actor says the company is now "skirting" its obligations and are refusing to pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Why do you ask? Well, Van Der Beek explains that after getting an email that said, "we are ready to call terms officially closed" -- someone from upper management stepped in and shut down the deal." Last month, the actor says during a zoom call with the company, they "reneged" on the deal -- claiming they have a "new policy of having their finance team review the deals, and the finance team rejected this deal."

Of course, Van Der Beek's team made it known that the company is still responsible to pay the guaranteed $700,000, which they're not doing. So, lawsuit it is...

Now, he claims the deal has caused him damages, including causing issues for anyone else who might have wanted to produce and distribute a podcast with him. "He stopped negotiating with other buyers and affirmatively rejected those other offers (as well as other acting opportunities) in order to devote his full time and attention to creating the podcast with Defendants," he says in the suit.

In the end, James is asking a judge to order the companies to pay him a minimum of $700,000 plus damages.

In the past few days, Van Der Beek reflected on his family and how they are healing following his wife Kimberly enduring two pregnancy losses. And, it appears he might have been referencing this deal.

The actor shared several photos from 2019 and August of 2022, saying, "Pic #1 we had just lost a baby 18 weeks into pregnancy and almost lost (Kimberly) the process. I had a collaboration going south, rapidly. And I’d just been booted off a reality dancing competition I’d been favored to win. (I feel like three out of those four are fairly relatable ?). So, last minute, we rented an RV, and headed north. No real plan, just day-to-day. Late one night we pulled into a quaint little RV park I’d booked a few hours earlier, and woke up next to this river. And thus began the process - not necessarily of healing - but of being present. Present to the pain. Present to the beauty around us. And present to the acceptance of being in a process I did not understand."

Adding, 2 ½ years later, after another late-term pregnancy loss, after that project blew up completely after we moved to a new state and got our own RV… we came back to that same spot. With a brand new baby boy ?? Reflecting back on that first trip, I’m astounded by how much I didn’t know about the path to where I am now… and by how much peace I was able to feel in the midst of that darkness."

The case is ongoing.