Sébas Diekstra, who assists victims of TV shows such as The Voice of Holland and Temptation Island, hits back at Ronald Molendijk. “There is a conflict of interest here.”
What a mess it must be behind the scenes of Shownieuws with all those double hats of the experts at the desk lying around. Anouk Smulders became discredited by making the victim of her friend Marco Borsato suspicious and Guido den Aantrekker continuously sweeps Rachel Hazes clean.
Ronald’s double hat
Or what about Lil Kleine who was constantly hugged in the show section? Purely because the son of one of the experts, Bram Moszkowicz, was his manager. Not to mention the fact that Shownieuws allows itself to be used as a PR vehicle for their dubious colleague Peter Gillis. And all these dual interests are rarely mentioned.
Ronald Molendijk also wore a double hat last week. He attacked Sébas Diekstra, who assisted the alleged victim of Voice band leader Jeroen Rietbergen (Linda de Mol’s friend). A panting man, Ronald snorted. He should also stick to the jargon and not call his client a victim but a complainant, he believes.
Sebas responds
What nonsense, Sébas responds X. “Mr Ronald Molendijk firmly stated that ‘victim’ would not be the correct jargon until a judge had ruled. This claim is completely incorrect from a legal perspective and, because of its certainty, is extremely harmful to (the position of) victims.”
He continues: “The Dutch legislator uses the ‘victim presumption’. Anyone who claims to be a victim on reasonable grounds will be treated as such by all authorities throughout the criminal proceedings. The target? Preventing secondary victimization.”
Conflict of interest
Sébas gently points out that Ronald has played records together with Jeroen for years. “What was striking in the broadcast was the undisclosed relationship between Mr Molendijk and the man who will be prosecuted for rape in the case surrounding The Voice of Holland. This context is essential for objective imaging.”
Shownieuws could do with being a bit more objective, he thinks. “I know from various cases that RTL Boulevard, for example, sometimes adjusts their planning to prevent a conflict of interest or the appearance of one. Why doesn’t this happen at Shownieuws?”
Ring the bell
Sébas has already sounded the alarm about the program. “I sent a letter to the editor-in-chief of Shownieuws. This resulted in a telephone conversation with the editor-in-chief. Despite our conversation, it remains uncertain whether action will actually be taken to correct such matters and prevent them in the future.”
He concludes: “I understand the time pressure during broadcasts, but accuracy and completeness are crucial when dealing with sensitive topics. Victims and public opinion deserve correct information.”