It is perhaps the low point of Beau van Erven Dorens’ career: his major TV interview with Gordon. How could this have happened? “Arrangements have probably just been made.”
Beau van Erven Dorens’ reputation is in ruins after his completely uncritical interview with Gordon. The man who is expected to critically question ministers and politicians in his late talk show has deflated Gordon without any contradiction. He was even given the opportunity to accuse his ex-boyfriend of schizophrenia.
Bold claim
Victor Vlam agrees with all other critics who find this very bad, he says in the podcast The Communicados. “Beau thought to herself: well, great, okay, I’ll just accept that as the truth. Hahaha. He didn’t ask further. (…) The interesting question I had was: why did this go wrong? How can this happen?”
Because something has gone wrong is also evident, according to co-host Lars Duursma: “Even if you and I are talking about something in a normal conversation, and at some point you make such a bold claim, then I would even in a conversation at the bar over a beer, asking: ‘Well, now Victor, can’t you substantiate that a little better?’”
High budget
It cannot be due to the preparation, according to Victor. “This was a special of no less than two hours. A very, very long program. That means there is simply a lot of money for it. So the idea that they simply forgot to prepare this, that the editors had not looked into this, that is of course really madness.”
Victor also points to the major interview with Gordon’s ex-boyfriend Gavin Rozario in the weekly magazine Privé. His story is diametrically opposed to Gordon’s. “So it is also very logical to contrast statements from Gavin’s interview with Gordon’s statements. But anyway, none of that happened.”
What’s going on?
So what’s behind it? “I think what is going on here is that agreements have been made between the producer of the Casa di Beau program (that is Beau himself, ed.) and Gordon’s management not to ask too many critical questions. (…) These types of programs depend on the big names wanting to come.”
Casa di Beau looks a bit like the TV Show that Ivo Niehe always did, according to Victor. “Light journalism, they always had very big names, but always offered guests a fairly positive portrait. (…) In fact they make an exchange. They try to attract big names and actually promise implicitly or explicitly that they will receive a positive portrait.”
Not critical
That makes it worthwhile for the big names to participate in such a program, according to Victor. “And that will also have happened here. Gordon’s management and Gordon himself were of course also aware: in a program that looks back on the past year, Gavin will also be discussed. Then it makes perfect sense to make agreements.”
He continues: “Whether that is explicit, or whether there is an email that the producer says: ‘We are not going to ask critical questions about it at all’, I don’t know. It can also be implicit. It may also be written a bit obscured. That things are said like: ‘We are going to give Gordon the opportunity to tell his story from his side’.”
Across the line
So that’s how you get Gordon, Victor concludes. It’s fantastic that Beau managed to lure him into his chalet, but if you just nod and smile, what do you gain? Nothing, except a big scratch on your journalistic reputation.
Lars gives Beau another piece of advice: be transparent about agreements next time. That’s the least you can do to save a remnant of your journalistic integrity in such a case…