Ali B must bare his buttocks if he even wants to have a chance of a musical comeback, says image expert Zabeth van Veen. But will that ever happen? “His ego can’t handle it.”
In about a year and a half – that is how long the cassation process is expected to take – Ali B will disappear behind bars for three years. He has been convicted of two rapes and has to start grumbling. The big question is: can he make a musical comeback when he gets out of prison? Or can he write that on his stomach?
DARVO
It will be difficult, thinks image expert Zabeth van Veen. “The DARVO effect is clearly present in Ali. It stands for ‘Deny, Attack and Reverse Victim and Offender’. In other words: deny, attack and reverse the roles of victim and perpetrator. He turns everything around, so that he is suddenly the victim.”
Ali’s defense is very weak, she continues Weekend. “In summary, his ‘defense’ is: I am a victim of a smear campaign, my career is destroyed, my marriage and family are destroyed, my reputation is destroyed, I am under constant stress, even though I am a very loving man…”
Complicated
If you continue to deny it adamantly, even though it has been proven, it will become very complicated, says Zabeth. “If he had acknowledged last time that it is horrible for the victims how they were also dismissed by public opinion and threatened by his fans and friends, he would not have suffered so much damage to his image.”
Ali could also have acknowledged the women’s suffering without confessing, she emphasizes. “In the Netherlands, Ali B cannot make a comeback without first showing that self-insight. Again: he must first confess. People do not trust him until then. And trust is very important for image. The public does not think for nothing: Ali is going to flee.”
Buttocks exposed
What should Ali do if he wants to have another chance? “He will first have to come back reborn. So: therapy, delving more into his faith, because who knows, he might then be able to take responsibility. And acknowledge: ‘I really did something wrong and I couldn’t handle it emotionally at all.’”
“He has to say: ‘I have worked very hard on myself and I want to apologize to the victims. Moreover, I have done more than I was convicted of.’ So completely bare buttocks, but that is still a long way to go. Right now his ego can’t handle that at all.”
