Mart Smeets’ jerky and questionable behavior does not cost him his column in the VARA guide. To the annoyance of a reader of the magazine: “When will it be removed?”
Mart Smeets is suspected of inappropriate behavior during his years at NOS Sport. After the story of Aïcha Marghadi, who was embarrassed in front of the entire editorial staff after she wanted to introduce herself to Mart, Catherine Keyl, BNR presenter Jelle Maasbach, Henk Westbroek and Leontien van Moorsel also stood up against him.
Remove Mart
In other words: 77-year-old Mart really did not behave as ‘courteously’ at NOS as he always claims. When he was recently confronted by TV interviewer Coen Verbraak about his alleged misconduct, he acted terribly arrogant and haughty. Critics even called him a ‘bad person’.
BNNVARA cannot use it all; that broadcaster is already damaged enough. And that is why a reader finds it strange that the VARA guide sticks to Mart’s column so much. “When will Mart Smeets be removed from the VARA guide?” says Mr. Frans from Ambt-Delden in the letters section of the TV guide, which is managed by Özcan Akyol.
Never neat
Özcan thinks this reader is going a bit too far and stands up for Mart. “It is never polite to ask if someone can be fired. In that sense you are of course no better than the person whose behavior you criticize.”
Mart’s column is not really about anything. He writes which CDs he likes to listen to. This week it’s about The Moody Blues. “I remember hearing ‘Love to see you’ somewhere and being perplexed by my sensitive mood; against soft tears, because it was such a good memory of a long time ago.”
A bit that doesn’t bother Mart’s former colleagues, so to speak…