Joop van den Ende is in deep trouble after writing a furious letter to the editors of the AD. “Stupid, yes, it shouldn’t be. I stand for journalistic independence.”
The world of showbiz is full of types who absolutely cannot handle criticism and even Joop van den Ende has now made himself known. It turns out that earlier this year he sent a furious letter of complaint to the editor-in-chief of the AD, because reviewer Jeroen Schmale gave only two stars for his musical Sweeney Todd.
‘Done wrong’
Joop regrets it quite a lot, he says in one AD interview with the reviewer in question. “So I shouldn’t have done that. Afterwards I think: I did it all wrong. But I would like to explain why I now assess it that way, otherwise it is too easy.”
Joop then tells a whole story about how theater and musicals are so important to him. And he desperately wanted Sweeney Todd to succeed. “We are taking a big risk financially. But above all: we are quite proud of the result.”
‘It’s not right’
With his musicals, Joop wants to ‘help the masses’. “And then I read in your review that you did not understand what we meant and that makes me sad, especially because other newspapers were positive and the musical won four Musical Awards.”
Jeroen then: “And then you share your feelings with the editor-in-chief.”
Joop: “Stupid, yes, it’s not right. I stand for journalistic independence.”
No jokes
Joop points to his daughter Iris van den Ende’s company, which produces Even Tot Hier, among other things. “Do you think she tells those makers that they are not allowed to write jokes about Matthijs van Nieuwkerk or André Hazes, because they also work for her? Of course not!”
Dan: “I crossed the line in this case and I think that’s a shame. Okay? Finished? Shall we shake hands?”
Jeroen: “Let’s do that.”
AD interview
The interview with Joop: