Well, that is a questionable decision by BNNVARA boss Suzanne Kunzeler. The woman who single-handedly blew up the career of Matthijs van Nieuwkerk does not look away at the Theo Maassen case.
Not a report, but Suzanne Kunzeler has blown up the TV comeback of Matthijs van Nieuwkerk at RTL. Probably rightly so, but on the basis of hearsay. Unresearched explanations were enough for the boss of BNNVARA to attack the presenter head-on, but her own Theo Maassen? She is now standing up for that.
Hypocritical Suzanne
Theo has been working on a travel series for the broadcaster, Der Theo, for two years and yesterday it seemed for a moment that Suzanne would be straightforward and suspend this series. But no. Although there is serious evidence in the case of Theo, who is accused of domestic violence – a chat conversation of 125,000 words – she keeps him in the saddle.
BNNVARA announces that Der Theo will continue as usual, namely from May 3. Where? On the main stage: NPO 1. The broadcaster tells RTL Boulevard that it does not respond to ‘rumors about someone’s private life’. Ah, apparently Suzanne allows you to throw your mother-in-law out the window – as long as it is private – but not to shout in the workplace.
‘It lies with the police’
Johan Derksen, who stood directly behind the comedian for a long time, seems to be turning now that the evidence against Theo is with the police. “That lady who leaked to Privé, which I thought was very bad, has now handed in her stuff to the police, so it is now at the right address. She really wanted to destroy him publicity and the police haven’t said anything yet.”
He continues Today Inside: “But they will listen in and if the police find it necessary to make a case out of it, they will interrogate Theo Maassen and then it will become a real case. Then they just have to hope that his wife will report it, otherwise it wouldn’t be a case. That ex-girlfriend is not a victim. It’s just clicky.”
Big risk
Wilfred Genee finds it very striking that Suzanne chooses to keep Theo on the air, because – based on what is happening now – he seems like a ticking time bomb. “I assume that VARA has had extensive discussions with Theo Maassen, because otherwise they would not take that risk, I think?”
If the police do open a case against Theo, then that lady is really the one, Johan thinks. “If this becomes a real thing, then it will be really embarrassing and then you can’t have that guy making a TV show at the same time, I think.”
‘Agressive myself!’
Private boss Evert Santegoeds is not surprised that Suzanne turns a blind eye to domestic violence. She is also an aggressive person herself, he says, but apparently she did have a bone to pick with Matthijs. “In the meantime, I hear all kinds of stories about Mrs. Kunzeler, that she herself would also have butter on her head,” he says in the podcast Strictly Private.
Why? “Because she also has a note in her personnel file for aggressive behavior. In any case, it would have happened that as channel manager of NPO 3 she regularly went on a rampage, threw chairs during the meeting and raged with colleagues.”
On the mat
Considering her secret, aggressive past, Suzanne plays a very strange role in this story, Evert thinks. “At one point she was called to account and a note was made in her personnel file because of the very behavior she accuses Matthijs of.”
Why does she victimize Matthijs and not Theo? It could also be money, he decides. A lot of euros have already gone into Der Theo. “They will have to explain where those six tons went. That’s taxpayer money.”