Gerard Joling regrets that Ruud de Wild called him names by phone, secretly recorded it and now uses it for his flop soap. And he gets a lot of support.
Ruud de Wild has the resilience of a ripe avocado. Gerard Joling called him ‘unsavory’ on television and he is now making a big fuss about it. What stings Ruud so much? Just before Gerard delivered that sneer at Eva Jinek’s table, they met each other and Geer said that Ruud looks so good these days.
Insincere Gerard
Eh, this is just classic star behaviour, notes Rob Goossens in RTL Boulevard. “Gerard Joling handed out an insincere compliment, but if you have to add up all the compliments in Hilversum that are insincere, you can fill the canal with that.”
To make such a fuss of it as Ruud does, and to secretly record a telephone conversation with Gerard, is going a bit far, according to Rob. “It’s a bit like: ‘Hello, am I speaking to Ruud ‘long toes’ de Wild?’, of course.”
“What are you doing weird now”
Eddy Zoëy finds it a bit unnatural that Gerard calls Ruud and is then scolded for ‘unreliable bastard’. “Ruud consciously thought: I’m recording it, aha, I know I’m recording it and now I’m going too shine in my own conversation. I cannot escape the impression that Gerard sometimes thinks: what are you doing strangely.”
Rob: “I did indeed have the idea that Ruud thought: okay, if we are recording it anyway, then we are going to throw the salt and pepper set in the pan at once, because that was of course also the problem of that other five episodes, that it was just too bland.”
For the ratings
It will be for the viewing figures, says Eddy. Ruud uses the telephone conversation for the end of his flop soap. It is part of a seven-minute item in which he and Olcay Gulsen evaluate their soap opera. “It kind of sounds like it was set up to get something in terms of ratings for that first episode.”
Rob: “Of course you never know. I think they indeed had too little material to fill the broadcast.”
Therapy session
TV connoisseur Tina Nijkamp thinks it’s lousy TV. She writes down Instagram: “It is more of a therapy session for themselves. What is the use of the VIEWER here??? It makes it clear exactly why this series flopped: Ruud, Olcay, but above all ALSO the makers have forgotten that a TV program should not be a personal document for the main characters.”
She continues: “You make TV for the VIEWER, not for yourself or for the people in your (media) bubble. Ruud and Olcay should therefore have been better advised by their managers and the makers could have guided Ruud and Olcay better by making better storylines. Bubble life.”
Gerard responds
Natacha Harlequin chimes in Show news that Ruud is working illegally. “If you publish this, you just have to ask permission. Then you may say: ‘I’m not asking permission at all, because there is a very compelling social interest.’ But I think Gerard just thinks: and done, and on.”
Indeed, no point is made of it, Gerard’s manager tells RTL Boulevard: “Gerard wanted to call nicely to apologize and thinks it’s a shame that they are now making a big deal out of it to boost their series.”
“One opportunist accuses the other opportunist of being an opportunist,” concludes Rob.