BNR presenter Jelle Maasbach knows a witness of inappropriate behavior by the denying Mart Smeets. “He cursed the shit out of someone on the floor.”
Mart Smeets is haughty itself, but states that he has always behaved exemplary during his TV career. According to former colleague Aïcha Marghadi and Catherine Keyl, this is absolute nonsense, but Mart does not recognize all those accusations. He states that he always behaves very courteously towards women and never swears at anyone.
Witness stands up
Complete nonsense, says BNR presenter Jelle Maasbach in the podcast Content Wars. “He also says, ‘I’ve never screamed before.’ Well, I can report from a very reliable source that that is certainly the case. That he insulted someone on the floor. These are arrogant people who no longer know what they are doing.”
Co-host Kirsten Jan van Nieuwenhuijzen, a former colleague of John de Mol, said: “This of course embodies the problem. It is an example of people who do not realize how badly they can behave and simply forget who they are and how they react. This was really a case of breaking your own window with your eyes open.”
Pretty disgusting
Kirsten Jan refers to Mart’s haughty behavior during a TV interview with Coen Verbraak. Mart is questioned about inappropriate behavior, but at one point threatens with a ‘red card’ if Coen continues to ask questions. “Yes, this conversation is not normal,” said Jelle.
“And then apologize again afterwards,” growls Kirsten Jan. “Yes, because everyone is talking about it. It is quite disgusting and I think that the problem with many of these men is that they believe that everything will not be so bad and that is of course the entire problem.”
‘You got away with it’
Mart, together with other prominent figures such as Jan Slagter and Johan Derksen, is one of the older TV men who downplay all the misconduct on TV. “They grew up and worked in a time when yelling and even getting physical was considered normal.”
It’s a good thing that these behaviors are no longer accepted, says Kirsten Jan. “I don’t understand it, but people let that happen to them because they were just completely intimidated. If you were a star you could get away with it.”