She’s here! James Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly, welcomed their fifth child, a girl named Gwendolyn, on Friday, June 15.
The Dawson’s Creek alum, 41, announced the happy news in an Instagram post on Sunday, June 17, sharing pics of the new arrival being greeted by her family.
“Thrilled to announce we welcomed a brand new baby girl into the world Friday morning, just in time for #FathersDay,” he captioned the adorable photos — which included one of him shirtless and cradling his newborn — before getting serious about the U.S. government separating children of illegal immigrants from their parents.
“These last few days, as I’ve enjoyed the privilege of making smoothies I know my older kids will like, making my wife red raspberry leaf tea to ease her uterine contractions, spending ‘boy time’ with my son and getting my two year-old down for a nap in the way only I know how… I’ve been heart sick about something,” he continued.
“As I write this, kids are being ripped from the arms of their parents. By our government. For the kid’s benefit? No – the opposite – as a purposeful display of cruelty to deter would-be illegal border crossers AND legal asylum seekers (it’s happening to both). And it wouldn’t be honest to wax poetic about my new-baby bliss without speaking up against this atrocity.
“If we allow our government to de-humanize fathers, and mothers, and children in the name of defending our borders… we’ve lost a huge part what makes those borders worth defending. And even if you don’t believe in karma, or in extending basic human decency to people who didn’t win the geographic birth lottery… even if you’re hard-liner enough to say, ‘Break the law, suffer the consequences,’ shouldn’t the punishment at least fit the crime? And if you’re still cold enough to say, ‘Well, it’s effective,’ consider this: This heinous practice was put into place by our own attorney general (who justified it with a cherry-picked Bible verse), and our president blamed rivals before tweeting his list of legislative demands to be met before he stops it,” he added.
“Regardless of how you feel about immigration, or a wall, or this president… if we say we’re okay with our government using human rights violations as a deterrent or as a bargaining chip… what happens when we find ourselves on the wrong side of the agenda? Either in this administration or the next? This should not be a political issue – it’s a human one,” he concluded. “A crime against humanity is a crime against us all.”
The actor ended his impassioned message with a tribute to his wife: “You’re a f–king earth goddess rock star and I’m as in awe of you as I am in love with you.”
The couple, who are the parents of Olivia, 7, Joshua, 6, Annabel, 4, and Emilia, 2, announced they were expecting their fifth child in February. “Some people are probably wondering if we’re out of our minds,” he wrote on Instagram. “Which we might very well be… but I couldn’t be more excited. Or grateful. Or in awe of @vanderkimberly.”
