Özcan Akyol’s credibility is wavering now that no one in the TV world has seen Matthijs van Nieuwkerk’s howler film that was said to be circulating en masse. “Why is he lying?”
Özcan Akyol has completely turned his back on his ex-best friend Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. The reason? The writer says he has seen a video in which the presenter behaves horribly and says he wonders who he has actually been defending all this time. Three or four colleagues pushed this howler film under his nose, he says.
Ozcan liar?
Özcan casually claims that he is not sharing any new information at all: that video is said to have already circulated en masse behind the scenes and is in any case circulating in chat groups of former DWDD employees. But really no one in the media world can be found who has seen the images in question. Not even Yvonne Coldeweijer.
Johan Derksen now doubts Özcan’s integrity and does not rule out that he simply made up the existence of this possible phantom film. Media critic Victor Vlam, known for analyzes in media such as De Telegraaf and RTL Boulevard, also fears the worst. “My theory is that this video does not exist. Then why did Eus say this?”
Panic move
There may be panic football, Victor says in the podcast The Communicados. “My theory is actually: I think he just choked on a lie. That it was a bit of a panic move to defend himself against the criticism that he is a size monger and then he said: ‘I have seen images, that is why I have changed my opinion.’”
Co-host Lars Duursma: “Yes, a bit like Frans Timmermans also made a very unfortunate statement when he was cornered by Jeroen Pauw and then started talking about those face masks on MH17.”
Unimaginable
Victor has re-watched the interviews with Özcan and thinks that if he is lying, then he is lying very credibly. “That raises a lot of questions for me, because the moment you tell such a blatant lie… Yes, when else have you lied? It really is an outright lie.”
He continues: “It is proclaimed there without reservation and without batting an eyelid. And if you can lie so well, then yes, I find it hard to believe that you haven’t done it more often. Most people who are good at lying are because they do it on a regular basis, so to speak. They ended up having a lot of exercises.”
‘It’s killing’
If Özcan’s lie comes true, it could mean the end of his career, Victor said. “That really kills his credibility and therefore also of course that of his employer, the AD, and for the two programs in which he made these comments, namely Humberto and Today Inside.”
He concludes: “I think he should say something about this. I think it is up to him to make it clear what exactly is going on here and I also think that those programs… I think it is important, when he is there again, that matters are really open about this , because his credibility is at stake.”