It is quite surprising that a major A-star like Eva Jinek chooses to speak out so emphatically about Bert Huisjes’ misconduct. Why does she actually do that?
The revealing article about WNL boss Bert Huisjes is extremely plausible because many well-known presenters confirm the findings about his misconduct by name. Eva Jinek is by far the best-known star who has chosen to expose Bert’s behavior. And she did that very consciously, she says Plastic.
Eva explains
Eva says that she started to feel bad when her former employer WNL’s report from the Van Rijn committee was so bad. “WNL came out worst in the report. There was also the statistic that 94 percent of the people who work there have either been victims of harassment and bullying themselves or witnessed it. And that is not normal.”
The figures speak for themselves and are now given a human face, Eva explains. “There was a clear conclusion with figures and then it remains a bit unclear. Then you are called to your own experiences and I had to admit that I recognized all of the experiences that I was told.”
Horror Bert
What exactly did Eva experience with horror Bert? “Look, everyone has her or his own experience. I don’t think it makes sense to go into detail about that. It’s been over 12 years since I worked there. But you have to imagine that there are still young journalists working there like I was at the time, just like Merel and Roos were.”
That’s why Eva is speaking out. “I believe that young people who work in public broadcasting should be able to function in a normal working environment. A place where there is bullying and intimidation on that scale is not a normal place and that is your first responsibility as a boss to ensure that does not happen.”
Pampering
Is Eva herself a very soft boss? “I’m certainly not someone who pampers people or holds hands, but that’s not the point. What matters is that it is a normal workplace.”
Pregnancy discrimination is not part of a normal workplace, she emphasizes. “I wasn’t pregnant at the time. That is not my experience either, but that is of course absurd, yes. Certainly. I mean, it wouldn’t even occur to me.”
‘I’m not like that’
Eva cannot imagine the misconduct. “As presenter of the program, I also have a responsibility for the way in which all the people who work for me are treated. And I feel that even more after everything that happened. But I don’t have to think about whether I’m being normal towards people.”
She continues: “That’s just how I was raised, how I always treat people. I don’t have to check with myself and ask: am I intimidating or bullying someone today? In the end it is very simple: just act normal.”