Gerard Joling admits that due to his lucrative RTL contract he is not always open in the studio of Today Inside. “The fact that you haven’t watched RTL Tonight is all bullshit.”
It is no secret that RTL boss Peter van der Vorst is terrified that his royally paid channel star Gerard Joling is out of line with his right-wing conservative friends of Today Inside. The entertainer has written very critical columns about Islam for years, and Peter does not want that ideology to be associated with RTL.
On your guard
Gerard admits that he was a bit more candid in the early days of VI. For example, he points to the period when the talk show was broadcast from Scheveningen. “You could say and shout some things, I wasn’t under contract anywhere at the time and then I think it’s something different than being under contract somewhere.”
He confesses in the column In The Walkways that such an RTL contract – he earns more than a million a year – does change something: “Then you are a little more cautious and on your guard.”
Commentary
Nowadays Gerard pays more attention at VI, he says. “Yes, I think I will now receive comments from some people, but I don’t care about that. This is me, it is no more, it is no less.”
Wilfred Genee: “No, but I do think that if you had not been under contract now, you would have gone a step further. I saw you switch gears a few times.”
Gerard: “Yes, there are things I would like to say, but I think: Geer, don’t do that.”
All nonsense
For example, Wilfred does not believe that Gerard has never really watched RTL Tonight, but that he only said that in VI to avoid a strong opinion. “You say from RTL Tonight that you never watched it. That’s all nonsense. You know that yourself, things like that,” says Wilfred.
Gerard: “That is true.” Then: “No, what are you talking about now?”
Wilfred: “RTL Tonight. I think you’ve seen that before.”
Seen pieces
Gerard then admits that he has actually watched it a few times, and that he therefore joked a bit on TV. “I have seen some parts, but I have never seen the whole thing again, also because you always come home late at night and are late. You know that too. My manager and good friend Wino also said beforehand: ‘Geer, behave yourself!’”
Wouldn’t Geer be suitable as a substitute Gijp? “I certainly could have done that, yes, but if you have a contract with a competitor, you have to respect that too.”