Theo Maassen is currently being spared by the VPRO, but will that change after the latest revelations from Privé? “After all, there is now a confession from him.”
It is striking that the VPRO still does not want to distance itself from Theo Maassen, the presenter of Zomergasten. According to his wife Joyce, he broke her nose – TV stars have been taken off the air for less. The big problem? This time it is not the Volkskrant that reports this misconduct, but the weekly magazine Privé.
How does VPRO respond?
De Volkskrant had not yet rolled off the printing press or Matthijs van Nieuwkerk and Tom Egbers had already been cancelled, but this does not apply to Theo. And that while Private yesterday with a follow up has come in which Theo admits his dark side. He does this in private emails addressed to whistleblower Angela, one of his ex-mistresses.
Private boss Evert Santegoeds in the podcast Strictly Private: “How will the VPRO respond now that there is a confession from Theo? Yes, that is just the question in those circles. If you see how everyone keeps their hands above each other’s heads, I wouldn’t be surprised if they remain very quiet again, but that also depends on public opinion.”
‘He steps up himself’
Ratings authority Tina Nijkamp expects Theo to resign himself, she says in the podcast Tina’s TV Update. “De Privé has come up with another piece about it. There is also a lot of commotion about this, because Johan Derksen believes it is a private matter. Well, the VPRO actually keeps its mouth shut, it doesn’t say anything. Well, Theo too.”
“But I do think that it is becoming increasingly urgent to say something, especially as a VPRO, because what is the position? Will Theo continue? What does Theo himself want? As I said: I think Theo himself will say: ‘I’m quitting’, because I don’t think he wants to further embarrass the VPRO and the NPO, because it is of course a hassle.”
‘It’s because of Johan’
Why did Evert actually come up with a follow-up? “After last week’s article, we were wondering: should we continue it? Well, the topic deserves that, because there was quite a bit of doubt about it. Johan Derksen calls it wafer-thin. Then I think: yes, I also have emails in which he admits that something happened.”
No one can ignore it anymore, he thinks. “All the media that keep quiet about it do so because they don’t know what to say, because there are so few hands and feet because there are no reports. But yes, now there is a confession from Theo Maassen himself in an email and that is very explosive.”
Still in development
The official response from the VPRO? It reads as follows: “The Summer Guests program for the 2024 season is still under development. We expect to be able to announce more about the presentation and possible guests at the end of April.”
Evert thinks that the broadcaster ultimately has to run; According to him, they cannot tolerate domestic violence. “Maybe that has changed a bit now that it appears that he himself admits it.”