Barbara Barend does not regret her fierce TV quarrel with John de Bever. She still thinks he behaved ridiculously at HLF8. “He raped the whole subject,” she muttered.
Two weeks ago, presenter Leonie ter Braak received the makers of a new podcast about the queer community in the talk show HLF8. Barbara Barend also sat at the table; she was a guest on the first episode of that podcast. From the audience John de Beaver suddenly started to interfere; he thinks the whole LGBTIQA+ ‘thing’ is ridiculous.
Not diplomatic
It provoked aggression in Barbara, which provoked a real TV altercation with John. How does she look back on that? “I don’t express myself very diplomatically, but I also thought it was such stupid remarks at the time. It wasn’t about that at all! I didn’t think it was appropriate at all and certainly not to Solange,” she says in the radio show MISCHA†
Solange Dekker is one of the creators of the podcast. She is transgender. “Solange was thrown on the street by her parents. None of her family wants to speak to her anymore. She then decides to make a podcast with someone who is straight to actually familiarize straight people with: what is there? What are the flavors?”
angry beaver
Understanding and tolerance; that’s what Solange wants to contribute to with her podcast, says Barbara. “She hadn’t put the word discrimination in her mouth at all and he immediately started: ‘You with your discrimination and pigeonhole yourself!’ Then I thought: wow, wait a minute, there’s someone here who doesn’t want a riot at all.”
That John was just ranting, Barbara said. “Then he also got over it with ‘Pink supporters’. Solange doesn’t even know what pink supporters are, because he barely knows what football is! That was a documentary made a week before about pink supporters. Then I think: what kind of stupid comment are you making?”
“He raped it!”
It is a shame that such a good message has been so smeared, Barbara thinks. “Then you start saying all kinds of things that completely miss the point at that moment and actually completely rape the subject. Very stupid comments. Solange didn’t talk about discrimination! She said afterwards: ‘What are pink supporters?’”
She continues: “Afterwards there is still someone who says: ‘It’s good for your podcast, isn’t it, a little buzz?’ Then she said, ‘I didn’t come for that! I came here to tell a story and I came for more understanding.’ She said, ‘Barbara, I was actually glad you stood up for me, because no one at the table said anything.’”
ran away angry
Johan Derksen states that Barbara ran away angry after the broadcast. Is that right? Yes, the presenter agrees.
She says: “I was still angry. Feyenoord played that night and I thought that was more important, so I said: ‘I’d rather watch Feyenoord than talk to you any longer, because I like that better.’ So I left.”
