Eric de Munck, one of the experts from RTL Boulevard, thinks his boss Peter van der Vorst is hypocritical when it comes to the Stop Hating, Be Sweet campaign. “Then just don’t broadcast it.”
It will probably haunt RTL boss Peter van der Vorst for the rest of his directorship: the Start Loving, Stop Hating, Be Sweet campaign. In the meantime, he broadcasts dirty programs such as Paradise Hotel in which TV makers are after the emotional suffering of candidates. Or an argument program like Ranking the Stars.
Fat shaming
Ranking the Stars does not fit the philosophy of the campaign at all, according to Eric. “Once again I think: is this about fat shaming again? I just think the level is…”
He continues The BLVD Podcast: “Then we all talk about how we should be nicer to each other and then we get programs like Ranking the Stars back. I just don’t think the two can really be reconciled.”
Appearance
This is about the joke Gordon made about the weight of a fellow candidate. Rob Goossens: “But you saw how harshly there was a response to that fat shaming, right?”
Bridget Maasland: “Yes, but that’s it out there.”
Eric thinks the RTL leadership is a bit hypocritical. “If you want to have an image of: we must be kind to each other, we are against hate, stop hate, be sweet, that is what we convey as RTL… Then you shouldn’t start at all, should you? Then you just shouldn’t broadcast it.”
Fairytale forest
Rob, who participates in Ranking the Stars, thinks differently about this than his colleagues. “I really don’t agree with you at all. Making death threats online is fundamentally different from making such an inappropriate comment in Ranking the Stars.”
“You are sitting there with ten people who are all fairly resilient and can respond if something is not okay. When you say ‘be sweet’, it does not mean that you suddenly live in some kind of fairytale forest where everyone is nice to each other all day long.”
Not nice
In any case, Bridget doesn’t look at it with pleasure. “I don’t like it as a viewer. I don’t like it when people treat each other that way… I really like good jokes that have been thought through and comedians who roast each other. (…) But just randomly insulting and slaughtering each other…”
Rob: “Love it or hate it.“