John van den Heuvel has gone far too far with the image he sketched of Marco Borsato for years, says TV critic Victor Vlam. “You were just presented with a kind of Bill Cosby image.”
The sensational way in which John van den Heuvel reported on the Marco Borsato case for four years created high expectations during the hearing: what bizarre evidence of fornication would we be presented with? A smoking gun however, this did not happen. Why did John spend all those years pretending that a prison sentence would be inevitable?
Crucial part
TV critic Victor Vlam thinks that John has gone too far, for example by claiming in his capacity as a Telegraaf journalist and crime expert for RTL Boulevard that Marco ‘thrown himself on the ground crying and apologized and apologized and the like’. “That was a crucial part of the image.”
It is simply not true, it now appears, Victor emphasizes in his podcast Victor Indicates TV. “It is now clear that these excuses did not refer to the fact that he had behaved incorrectly, but to the fact that his behavior was misinterpreted. He felt bad about that. That is of course a completely different apology.”
Big difference
That’s a very different thing, according to Victor. “There’s a big difference between saying, ‘I’m sorry I misbehaved,’ and, ‘I’m sorry my behavior looked bad to you.’”
He continues: “With his apology, Borsato did not acknowledge any misconduct, while the articles and media appearances of John van den Heuvel suggested that he had indeed acknowledged his own misconduct. That was of course influential in the image.”
Sort of Bill Cosby
John has also persistently hinted at several of Marco’s victims. If there were, then the report against Marco would be the perfect time to come forward, because they would then be believed much more quickly. However, we’ve never heard anyone else complain about the Dreams Are Deceit singer.
According to Victor, it is evident that John has exaggerated the matter. “You are presented with a kind of Bill Cosby image, someone who abused all kinds of women for years and where one victim after another came forward to the media. At one point I think there were more than a hundred.”
‘Explain!’
And it’s all John’s fault, according to Victor. “That was the image you got of Marco Borsato. The idea that he was guilty… Yes, it was only a matter of time before the judge would convict him. It could hardly have been otherwise.”
He concludes: “I think John van den Heuvel should explain why he said these things.”