Johan Derksen. Photo: Duncan Whiting
The tour The Sound of The Blues & Americana will continue from Sunday, but without Johan Derksen. He would act as ringmaster. But theater agency AT Next has immediately terminated its collaboration with Derksen.
The agency said on Thursday that this decision would depend on the apologies Derksen would make in the program Today Inside about his ‘candle story’. “But Thursday’s broadcast has not caused us to reconsider our decision,” said a spokesman.
† The Sound of The Blues & Americana is made by a large group of musicians and technicians who have had hardly any income for two years because of corona. We don’t want to let this group down. We are going to look for an alternative for Johan, who would talk the performance together.”
AT Next says it deeply regrets the decision: “We have enjoyed working with Johan since 2014. And he has committed himself unpaid for our musicians and the blues music. He has a big heart, especially for the blues, and we are very sorry that it had to end this way.”
More parties withdrew their hands from Derksen in recent days. He is under fire after he entered Tuesday Today Inside had confessed to penetrating a drunk and unconscious woman with a candle fifty years ago. He later edited his story and said there had been no penetration. The story caused quite a stir.