Sophie Hilbrand did not let Joop van den Ende get away easily in her talk show last night with the revelation that he once made Simone Kleinsma cry. “This is intense.”
Almost all celebrities with a dominant position have been under a magnifying glass since the scandals about The Voice, DWDD and NOS Sport, among others, because it is apparently a challenge for them to behave normally. What about media billionaire Joop van den Ende? He was summoned by Sophie Hilbrand last night.
Roaring Joop
Sophie had on her talk show Khalid & Sophia a conversation with Joop and his good friend Simone Kleinsma. It was also about the professional understanding between the two. “If I’m a little less, then he can come in quite a bit of a breeze,” Simone confesses at one point.
Joop then: “Brying is not being angry. It’s always about making it better. For production. It’s never personal. If you are critical as a producer and you make it personal or annoying, then it’s wrong. That is not how it should be. It’s always about making it better and in this case to take Simone one step further.”
Crying Simone
Has he ever made Simone cry? She: “Not that often, but it did happen once.”
Joop then confesses: “She did a solo. There was a solid group around. Guus was there too, he directed there. I entered Beverwijk. I will never forget it. The first tryout. And Simone was a bit fuller, she wasn’t doing her best.”
In other words: he thought Simone was fat. “And in a completely wrong dress. Everything was wrong.”
Simone: “He thought so. He thought.”
Dance solo
It didn’t look like Simone started dancing in that dress, according to Joop. “The program was called Songbook and it contained a whole dance solo. So I saw it and I only had one night and so I had to tell the truth afterwards. That was tough. We didn’t speak to each other for a week, but after that it was good again.”
Sophie is a bit shocked by it. She continues: “But the criticism was in any case: you’re not in great shape and what are you doing in that dress and it’s just not good enough?”
fat shaming
There is an accusation of fat shaming in the air here. Joop recovers: “No, no, then you choose the wrong dress. The production, damn it, why do you dress like that… Of course: you can dress anything and do anything. It’s about the job, it’s about getting better. There is an audience that has bought tickets.”
Then Sophie wants to know from Simone how long she was angry. “A few days, yes. Because I was so convinced that I still enjoyed it so much. I thought: it was my last chance to lift my leg a little. (…) But the program was called Songbook with sung songs and why do you suddenly jump for ten minutes. He was right too!”
In 2023
Actually, this is no longer possible in 2023, Sophie then suggests. “I’m curious, Joop… In this day and age… You just said: ‘You weren’t quite in shape, you were perhaps a bit too full and stuff.’ That might be possible in this day and age… That is already getting a bit complicated.”
Table lady Natasja Gibbs expresses her disapproval: “I think it’s intense! Sorry!”
Sophie: “Do you feel that we can no longer be strict enough?”
Worrying
Yes, replies Joop. “Well, I find that worrying, yes. If it’s done out of annoyance or creepiness: wrong. But it’s about the audience at home. That has the right to get the best.”
Sophie: “But with that you’re actually saying that what you hear now and then, is seen as cross-border… Do you worry: it shouldn’t get too soft? Do I understand that?”
Joop: “Well, too soft… I am critical of the fact that it is said: you should only be nice to each other. That is not how it should be. You have to be nice to each other and be correct and help and support each other, but you have to be able to be critical of each other.”