According to his lawyer, Tim den Besten is ‘still recovering in the shelter’ and does not expect a TV comeback in the foreseeable future. But is the viewer still waiting for his presence?
VPRO face Tim den Besten was seen on the public broadcaster for years, but that came to an abrupt end at the end of 2023. He turned out to be the NPO version of Dotan, but even worse. While the singer insulted colleagues with anonymous troll accounts, Tim made the lives of other gay men on Grindr miserable through identity fraud. Rancid.
Grindr misconduct
What exactly did Tim do? He pretended to be a number of other men from the gay scene on that app and pretended that they were extremely loose, which even caused the gentlemen in question to suffer in their personal lives. Without permission, he used their photos to create all kinds of fake profiles. A report was filed against him.
Tim ultimately chose to admit the misconduct and thus avoid prosecution. That might be the best thing for at least one of his victims, since it would be a well-known Dutch person.
Cancer diagnosis
The funny thing is that Tim accompanied this Grindr row at the time by announcing that he had cancer, but that aroused suspicion. For example, columnist Jan Dijkgraaf did not believe it: “I would like to believe that this disease was not made up. But wanting is not always: being able to.”
Private boss Evert Santegoeds states that Tim did not lie about this and that he was battling anal cancer. “It makes it difficult for you to sit, let me put it this way.”
How are you doing now?
After a long silence, Tim’s lawyer says that he is ‘still recovering in the shelter’. It is unclear whether and when he will resume his work, “but we do not expect that to be in the short term.”
The VPRO leaves it to it ANP know ‘no further announcements’ about the collaboration with Tim, but the big question is: is the viewer still waiting for that?
Opinions divided
Opinions are divided, as appears on the response forum NU.nl. “Being ill is serious and I wouldn’t wish cancer on anyone, but that does not mean that all previous actions should suddenly be forgotten or downplayed. Identity fraud and the misuse of photos and data of others are not ‘mistakes’,” says a certain Raytje.
According to him, this is ‘consciously transgressive behavior from which victims have suffered real damage’. “The fact that the VPRO is now again being vague about a possible collaboration actually says it all: they know perfectly well how serious this is. Trust comes on foot and goes on horseback. Public figures also have responsibility for their behavior off camera.”
Miles deep
A certain Ceciel thinks that Tim can return to TV. “Tim has gone to great lengths, spoken to the victims, the charges against him have been dropped and he will suffer lifelong reputational damage as a result.
And now also take away his livelihood? You don’t think it’s enough yet? I don’t like that weird cancel culture.”
Tim can go back to work, but not as a celebrity, decides a certain Ramon. “Maybe Timmy should just give up being a celebrity. Even a life-threatening illness will not erase his misconduct and it will always be looked at publicly. There is plenty of work to be found outside the spotlight.”