Raymond Mens’ friend is angry. Very angry. But isn’t he overreacting a bit? No, says TV critic Victor Vlam. “Keep in mind that he is an unknown Dutchman.”
It was a turbulent week for Raymond Mens. On Tuesday evening he sat at the bar of Today Inside with Gerard Joling and he will not soon forget that. Geer revealed that Raymond had told him in confidence that he had a low libido, but that his friend wanted more and that Geer had therefore driven to Almere to do it.
Fierce sweetheart
Gerard and Raymond said it very seriously, at no point did they indicate that it was a joke and therefore everyone assumed that the gentlemen were just a bit liberal in the match. However, Raymond’s friend, also called Raymond, was furious, and later Gerard and Raymond suddenly denied that this had happened.
TV critic Victor Vlam understands the anger of Raymond’s boyfriend. “That friend is not very happy that that has come out. Is that understandable? Yes, I understand why that friend is a little less happy about that, and I also think that they should have been a little more careful about it at the table at VI, especially on Wednesday evening.”
ON’er
Victor points out in his podcast Victor Indicates TV Note that Raymond’s friend is not a Dutch national, but an ON national, an unknown Dutchman. “Look, unknown Dutch people have a different way of dealing with these kinds of things than well-known Dutch people.”
He continues: “If you are famous, a lot of information comes out about you and you also have the opportunity to reveal new information about yourself, so one thing doesn’t last very long.”
‘Sticks’
This is different for unknown people, according to Victor. “If you are discussed in the media once in your life, there is a good chance that in five years’ time people will still come back to it, because that one moment when you were featured in the media is a very remarkable moment in your life. So it will stick with you more.”
He continues: “There is also a chance that it will still dominate your Google results in ten years. So it is something that will stick with you longer than if you are a celebrity. I understand why someone who is unknown and does not have the ambition to appear in the media and become famous finds it annoying that these kinds of stories are shared.”
Big risk
Victor thinks that Raymond’s friend will continue to suffer from this for a long time. “You will still be reminded of this in ten years’ time, that’s the risk. I think they should be a little more careful with that at the table at VI, because yes, joking about people in the program is completely fine and as far as I’m concerned you should certainly be able to tolerate that.”
But, he concludes: “You have to be a little careful with partners. You have to spare them a little, because they have not opted for that media world, so that is why you have to be a little more reserved.”