Paul Haenen, better known as his alter ego Dominee Gremdaat, thinks that de Volkskrant is acting outrageously with the reporting on the misconduct of Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. “Too bad.”
For five months, De Volkskrant has conducted a very thorough investigation into the behavior of Matthijs van Nieuwkerk behind the scenes of De Wereld Draait Door. For the extensive article that appeared about him last Friday, more than seventy former employees were spoken to. Fifty of them complain about transgressive behaviour.
Destroy
Sensational journalism, says former DWDD face Paul Haenen. He says in the talk show HLF8 that people who did enjoy working there were deliberately not spoken to. “I speak that too, still. Then you give a distorted picture.”
He continues: “I think it’s a bad thing of de Volkskrant that they spend ten pages to destroy a presenter, because that’s what it comes down to. I actually think they are catching up with De Telegraaf in this area.”
Labor dispute
Paul thinks it’s all very exaggerated. “It’s not about ten pages about the increasing crime in the Netherlands or about the climate, but it’s about a labor dispute at a very popular television program.”
Hostess Hélène Hendriks: “Well, it is a bit more than a labor dispute.”
Fellow guest Roos Schlikker: “Now it sounds like one person is a bit dissatisfied. These are fifty people. I like it quite a bit.”
Paul: “Yes, but it’s one program and one conflict, you’re not going to devote ten pages to that, are you? I think it’s idiotic.”
Pleasure
Roos: “It has been one of the greatest programs in TV history and that of course makes it newsworthy.”
Paul: “You also notice the pleasure that everyone has to destroy it completely, actually. Also the colleagues at Op1. Nobody defends Matthijs.”
Roos: “Well, I have seen Eus who defends Matthijs extensively, I have seen a number of people who do defend Matthijs very strongly. That is also allowed, isn’t it, that’s fine.”
Passionate
Hélène: “It is good to say that you, Paul, were part of the interior of De Wereld Draait Door.”
Paul does admit that he thinks Matthijs has gone too far, especially with the chastisement of technicians. “That is something you never do at all, because they are usually very nice people. But the VARA should have tackled that.”
“I do think he’s out of his mind, that’s for sure, and he has very aggressive sides. That will certainly be the case, but Mick Jagger will also have that, so to speak.”
Fragment
An old fragment by Matthijs arouses a lot of surprise today:
