Sophie Hilbrand gets a big blow from Angela de Jong. According to the AD opinion diva, the presenter is only concerned with herself. “And what an annoying tone!”
A broken agreement led to some unrest at the table in Bar Laat the day before yesterday. Palestine activist Esther van der Most walked away from the table because presenter Sophie Hilbrand did not adhere to the agreements. “I would talk about my family being murdered. I don’t think we talked about that.”
Fate of talk show host
Sophie explained to this guest that that’s just how TV works. “I can explain it to you, and you can absolutely come back again, but if more time is spent on answering another question, or if more information comes to the table, then I can choose to continue with this for longer.”
“But that also means that you cannot discuss some things because several things have to be discussed at such a table and that is unfortunately the fate of the talk show host.”
Insensitive
Very insensitive, Angela thinks. She points out that Esther had even provided photos of her deceased relatives. “A rather charged, personal subject, regardless of what you think of her views,” she writes AD column.
It’s quite remarkable that Sophie talks about the ‘fate of the talk show host’, according to Angela. “After all, he is having such a hard time. If a guest gives a different answer than what is in the script, she suddenly has to make very complicated choices at such a table in a split second.”
Annoying show
How Sophie conveys that really lacks empathy, Angela thinks. “It’s the host’s fate. Not the guest’s. And then she said it in an annoying tone, as if she were trying very hard to explain something that was very obvious in a very patient tone to an unreasonable child.”
Finally, Esther walked away during a movie. “Sophie then explained to viewers that her guest was overcome with emotion about her family. Aha, that’s what it’s called in her parallel universe. But then I have news. In the normal world we call that angry and disappointed in TV makers who are only concerned with themselves.”
Sloppy
The criticism of Sophie is justified, says Ben van der Burg. He agrees The Orange Winter: “I thought it was a bit strange, because it is a bit of a delicate subject. You have to take your time and handle it carefully. It was sloppy.”
Also the readers of Angela go wild on the presenter. For example, Ludo says: “Very, very bad and blunt of Sophie. And when you see how much time is taken for a bad interview on an unimportant subject such as the resignation of a board member of the Elfstedentocht, it is very poignant.”