Iris van Lunenburg is close friends with the discredited Tim den Besten. How does she view the Grindr scandal surrounding the VPRO star? “I think it’s really intense.”
Two victims are in therapy, the third victim fears for his career: according to these men, Tim den Besten has caused a lot of damage by impersonating them on the gay dating app Grindr. In their name he has spread the most raunchy things and stolen nude photos from other users, according to Het Parool.
What does Iris think?
What does Iris van Lunenburg think? “I have known him for years, even before we both started working in the media. I think it’s really intense. I know him as a very sweet boy. Very cheerful, very committed. I don’t say that to discredit those who filed charges. There are two people walking by a therapist. That is of course very intense.”
She continues at the desk Show news: “What I really have my doubts about is the timing. As we have all heard, Tim is really seriously ill. You would think that he would need all his energy, all his attention for this. All his focus too.”
Too premature
Should Het Parool have remained silent because Tim has cancer? “I’ve wondered about that. I can imagine that if you have a big story as a newspaper, you want to cover it first. At the same time, when I see it like this, I think: I think it’s a bit too premature. (…) I would have thought it more chic to wait until it was a little further along, instead of bringing it now.”
Iris thinks it’s inappropriate. “I just find it very intense. Both the charges he is accused of, and of course the fact that he is so ill. I wonder… How would I say that? You gotta do that to someone, huh? When someone is really sick.”
Wait?
Colleague Anouk Smulders thinks differently. “Of course that goes both ways, right?”
Iris: “Yes, certainly, that’s why I find it so difficult.”
Bart Ettekoven: “Suppose you are a victim and you hear that someone is seriously ill, is that a reason not to prosecute someone if you are still seeing a psychologist and are really experiencing problems, including with your work?”
Anouk: “And let that depend on the intensity? Because we don’t know exactly how bad his health is. So are we going to let that depend on the severity of his illness?”
Iris: “No, no idea, no.”
Really sick
The gossip that Tim is lying about his illness is incorrect, according to Rob Goossens. He says in RTL Boulevard: “That part is not a lie. That also illustrates the drama that is taking place here. Tim is actually very ill and Tim is actually confined to his bed, but at the same time he is accused of quite serious things that happened while he was already ill.”
Yvonne Coldeweijer seems to know more about this. She says on her juice channel: “It’s a little different than it seems now, but that will work out eventually. 🙏”