Erica Meiland is completely done with Matthijs van Nieuwkerk since the revelations about his behavior as a studio executioner. She thinks he went too far. “He’s got the shit in his head.”
While older men like Jan Slagter and Johan Derksen condone the monstrous behavior of Matthijs van Nieuwkerk, Erica Meiland finds it downright scandalous how he behaved towards employees of De Wereld Draait Door. “I think it mainly comes down to decency,” she explains in magazine Weekend.
Cooler in head
You can also lead decently, Erica believes. “You shouldn’t be doing that sort of thing. Whether someone is the cleaner or the cameraman or woman, you just don’t act like that to other people. Maybe if you’re so famous for so long that you get the nonsense in your head, I don’t know either.
Erica believes that people should become much more resilient. “People should organize themselves much better, ask themselves the question: ‘What do you think of it, do you also have that experience?’ But the leadership did not pick up on the signals and that is not good either. I find it all very unsympathetic.”
‘Can’t Make You’
Matthijs has to change his behavior, says Erica. “You just can’t do that, what Matthijs did. No one is above the law and you are nothing more than anyone else. The same is true with cameramen. If they don’t do their job well, you have a bad image, so treat them well.”
She continues: “If someone is not doing their job properly, you should not publicly humiliate them. Then you call him or her separately and say it, but not in front of colleagues. That is simply taking out your own stress or frustration.”
Never on TV again?
Erica doesn’t know if Matthijs will ever return to television. She wonders if he’s still welcome anyway. “First I read that he had resigned himself, then I heard that he had been fired.”
She concludes: “We are not getting the real information. I’m glad I’m not in the shoes of the TV bosses, but it’s certainly not okay what happened.”
