Pawn Stars’ Rick Harrison Says He Paid for Son Corey’s Medical Bills ‘Long Before’ His GoFundMe Launched

Corey Harrison’s friend, Aron Chambers, created the GoFundMe page to cover the TV personality’s medical bills at the start of the week

Rick Harrison is responding to recent questions surrounding a fundraising campaign connected to his son, Corey Harrison. The reality TV star says he had already taken care of his son’s medical expenses following a motorcycle crash well before the GoFundMe page began circulating online.

Corey, 42, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Tulum, Mexico, in late January. He sustained 11 breaks in his ribcage, a concussion and internal bleeding, according to a GoFundMe page set up by Corey’s friend Aron Chambers at the start of the week.

Rick, 60, initially responded to the GoFundMe on Thursday, March 5, “Corey is a grown man and he will deal with his life as he sees fit,” per TMZ.

But on Friday, March 6, Rick claimed he paid his son’s expenses. “As far as I know, I paid all of Corey’s medical bills long before he put the GoFundMe out,” Rick said, according to PageSix.

“He is a grown man in his 40’s,” Rick said, adding, “[Corey] is responsible for how he handles his finances.”

Both Corey and Aaron did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.

Chambers detailed Corey’s accident and recovery in the GoFundMe description. He explained that after the accident, Corey was rushed to a hospital in Playa del Carmen, where he stayed for 14 days, until “the financial pressure became too much.” But once Corey was home, he says that he “was in excruciating pain,” and had to call a house doctor, who then administered IV fluids and morphine treatments, according to the fundraiser’s description.

“Corey was incredibly hesitant to take heavy pain meds, especially after losing his brother Adam to an overdose just last year, but the agony left him with no other option,” Chambers wrote. Adam Harrison died of a fentanyl overdose in January 2024.

Chambers wrote that Corey’s condition worsened, and his “oxygen levels plummeted to dangerously low levels.” He was then transported to a medical facility four hours away, where he learned one of his ribs had “completely separated and was pressing into his lung.”

He underwent three life-saving surgeries and had nearly three liters of blood drained from his chest cavity. Due to his status, he remained hospitalized for 18 more days before he was discharged, per the GoFundMe.

It was upon his departure that Corey allegedly learned his medical bills were in excess of $100,000. In response, he claimed he tried to pay the bills, going so far as to empty out his bank account and max out his credit cards.

“Being on television and part of Pawn Stars fame doesn’t come with a built-in safety net for emergencies like this — medical crises don’t care about celebrity status,” Chambers wrote. Corey told TMZ he is no longer affiliated with Pawn Stars but still receives some residual checks from reruns of the long-running series.

Chambers said that Corey is still not strong enough to return to the U.S. for further treatment, and the GoFundMe is the “lifeline to get him through.”

The accident occurred one day before his father’s wedding to Angie Polushkin in Cancun on Jan. 26; and Corey was unable to attend. Corey posted snaps of himself in a hospital bed in an Instagram post, updating fans on his condition and his absence from his father’s wedding. He said at the time he was feeling “good” despite the internal injuries.

Rick later confirmed that he visited Corey at the hospital, telling Fox News that “it sucks that he didn’t [attend].”