Overview: this is what you missed in the episode of #BOOS
Trigger warning: stories about sexual misconduct
When was the last time all of the Netherlands was so captivated by an episode that was about to be launched? The comparison with Peter R. de Vries was already made many times today; at the time, seven million people watched his episode about Joran van der Sloot and Natalee Holloway (in which he was in conversation with Patrick van der Eem in the car who made a ‘confession’). There was also a lot of tension and expectation surrounding that. And now the whole country is in suspense again: today at 4:00 PM, the episode of #BOOS went online, by Tim Hofman, in which the allegations against The Voice of Holland were discussed.
In the past few days, several details have naturally come to light, but the camp of #BOOS remained silent; we just had to wait for the episode. And there it finally was. Did you miss it, can/will you not watch it, or do you not have an hour and a half right now (because yes, that's how long the episode lasts)? I have a summary of everything that was discussed here.
Start investigation The Voice of Holland
In the spring of 2020, #BOOS was first approached by two women (one participant of TVOH, the other did not participate in the program) regarding sexual misconduct by coach Ali B. They were approached again, this time about sexual misconduct by another coach: Marco Borsato.
Jeroen Rietbergen
– ‘Jeroen asked for my number. At first, he texted me about the program, later he asked for photos.’
‘He said I shouldn’t act too sexy during the recording days, because then he would jump me.’
‘At one point, he texted me asking how I had shaved down there. … Later he sent me a dick pic.’
‘At one point he asked me: ‘How old are you?’ I said: ‘Seventeen.’ He said: ‘Oh, you don’t feel anything from that.’’
These are statements from various victims about Jeroen Rietbergen, the now ex-partner of Linda de Mol.
– Nineteen people have reported to #BOOS with experiences about Jeroen Rietbergen: all young, female, and with identical tendencies in their stories. They were both participants and employees at The Voice. The first experiences date back to 2010.
– The program management was aware of it, but dismissed complaints as ‘jokes’ or said ‘that’s just how Rietbergen is.’.
Marco Borsato
– It became publicly known that a 22-year-old woman has filed a report against Marco Borsato, but three other young women have also approached #BOOS and reported that Marco Borsato had groped them on the buttocks for an extended period.
– Additionally, three other candidates from The Voice Kids came forward with stories about Marco Borsato who groped their buttocks for a long time and sought them out when they walked away, to continue these actions.
– An insider says: ‘Everyone on the work floor knew about these kinds of things a little, but everyone keeps their hand over each other's heads. It's a gentleman's agreement not to talk about these kinds of things.’
Ali B
– A victim of Ali B appears unrecognizable on screen, on the day she is going to file a report of rape against the The Voice coach. Why now, after so many years? ‘I knew there were more girls, because he told me back then that he did that more often. But I never found them, and to file a report against someone who has so much money, so much power…’
– The Public Prosecution Service had already looked into her case during this conversation with #BOOS and advised her to indeed file a report.
– She hopes to encourage other girls who have gone through the same thing and feel unheard to do the same.
– Several victims (ex-candidates of TVOH) of Ali B tell their story unrecognizably on screen in the studio of #BOOS. They talked about their experiences with Ali B, how intense the contact with him was. That he asked for their addresses, picked up the girls or came to visit them. One victim said he suddenly said: ‘I feel like having sex.’ She recounts: ‘There was really zero sexual attraction. I felt quite uncomfortable and I had to laugh a bit because I got nervous. I replied: ‘Uhh, okay…’ And I tried to change the subject. But then he stood up, rubbed a bit over his penis and then said again: ‘I really feel like having sex.’ Then I opened the door and said: ‘You’d better leave.’’
– Another victim recounts: ‘He sat down next to me and suddenly started kissing me. And at that moment I felt in such a position — he was so powerful compared to me — that I thought: what you want, that has to happen now. So I let it happen what he wanted. I was frozen and he had sex with me. Afterwards, I was dazed while getting dressed. Then he sat down on a chair to watch my live show and give comments. Then he said: ‘If you participate again next year, let me know, then I’ll make sure you come into my team and go very far.’’
– ‘I was 18, I think he was 32. He knew he was taking me somewhere I couldn’t get away from, because he came to pick me up. He knows he is a big name in music and he knows that does something to girls who want to do something in music. He knows that if those girls open their mouths, it’s over.’
– ‘Aren’t you afraid people will find out?’ a victim asked Ali B, to which he replied: ‘No, because no one will believe you anyway.’
– Several victims came forward following the #BOOS call, including people who did not participate in The Voice. But they also get to speak, as it clearly shows how Ali B operates.
– One of these victims recounts: ‘I was at a party where Ali performed. I was then taken out of the audience. Ali then sent everyone away to be alone with me. He said: ‘Do you want to become famous? I can help you with that.’ The atmosphere eventually became grim, as he got too close. He stared at me for a long time and intensely, and I thought: I need to get out of here. It wasn’t easy to get away, I had a strong impression that he was after sex. I felt he wanted to first show that he had power, to make me famous.’
‘I was a budding artist in my early 20s. I came into contact with Ali and he promised to help me become big in the music world. I believed that, I looked up to him. He once texted me late at night asking if I would come to his studio and I went there, thinking we were going to make music. I brought a friend with me. There were several men present in the studio. They were doing nitrous balloons. After a while, Ali sat down next to me and suddenly kissed me. I froze and didn’t dare to say anything, because we were in the minority. I wanted to leave, but he offered me money to stay. I didn’t want that. He threw the money at my friend. We left and he held us back at the door.’
– ‘I thought: we’re going to have a nice drink. But it turned out he wanted sex. We lay down on the bed and he jumped on me, took a condom and insisted on sex. I didn’t want this. I had a leg in a cast. Moreover, I found him too old, and he has children. He still put on the condom and said things like: ‘It’s over quickly, come on babe, you make me so horny.’ When it was over, he called a taxi and put me in it to go home. I thought it was my own fault.’
– Another girl recounts an experience at his home, where he repeatedly put his fingers in her pants. When she asked if Ali B had ever heard of consent, he got angry and started to insult her. When he was alone with her, he forced her to perform oral sex on him. She thought: f*ck it, I’ll just get it over with, and did it. This woman, who met Ali in 2018 at a writers' camp, has since also filed a report.
Questionnaires
– #BOOS has sent questionnaires to The Voice of Holland and to the coaches who are being accused. They did this on January 13.
– Another fifteen people approached the program with complaints about a director. After being approached by #BOOS, his lawyer indicated that he did not recognize himself in the accusations.
– The management of Marco Borsato responded that it would not fill out the questionnaires due to the criminal investigation against the singer. Answering the questionnaire could be too incriminating.
– Jeroen Rietbergen gave a public statement, which we have all read by now. He acknowledged the sexual contacts, which he saw at the time as ‘reciprocal and equal.’ He does acknowledge that his own perception is ‘not relevant’ and that his behavior is ‘completely wrong.’ He also states that he has already deeply apologized to his ‘family and employer.’.
– ITV came shortly after Rietbergen with a statement: they say they are ‘shocked.’ Their highest priority would be ‘to provide a safe and supportive environment’ for ‘everyone who participates in or works on our shows.’
– RTL also came shortly after with their statement, in which they say they were not aware and refer to the same investigation as ITV: an external investigation they will conduct into all accusations.
– Ali B responded with a statement on Instagram, in which he claims to be ‘100 percent convinced of his innocence.’.
– At Talpa, the team of #BOOS indicated that the complaints about Rietbergen had been known for some time, but they did not address it.
– The questionnaire was also sent to Erland Galjaard, who was program director until 2018. The Voice of Holland therefore fell under him.
– In the media, it became known that there was a conversation in 2016 between Jeroen Rietbergen and his employer. After investigation by #BOOS, they discovered that an investigation was initiated in 2019 into Rietbergen due to misconduct.
Interview with John de Mol
– Talpa contacted Tim Hofman: John de Mol wants to talk, but only if he can first see the episode of #BOOS. After that, he promises to answer the nine questions from the questionnaire.
– His reaction: ‘I have to say that I am quite confused by what I just saw. And if you had shown me just one percent of what was there, it would have already been way too much and it would have already been shocking. But it’s much more than that. So I am indeed confused about that, yes. When you look at how we have our corporate culture, how the production of The Voice is organized and then at the end of the day you get this sum of what has apparently gone wrong, then I think: yes, then all those counters and those measures have not had the desired effect.’
– Did John de Mol already know about these accusations before January 12 (when he received a message from #BOOS)? ‘Actually, for me, this film only starts in April 2019. Before that time, The Voice has been running since 2010, I believe, so for nine years, nine series, ten series, and The Voice Kids, I was never aware that anything like this had happened in those productions. For the first time, that happened in April 2019. Then Linde de Jong, the creative director, came to my office with the story about Jeroen Rietbergen. And this is how it went: the lady in question reported to the candidate guidance we have at The Voice.’ ‘With a story that she was being harassed, with messages, by Jeroen Rietbergen. And Linde initially chose to contact the victim, invited her to the office, she came with her mother. We were told what had happened, then Linde went to our business director and then they came to my office together that same day. I was momentarily speechless and then I became really furious. And what I did then was immediately call Jeroen Rietbergen, who was in the studio with something. I said: ‘You drop everything now, you get in your car and come to my office.’ Ten minutes later he was there and I really showed him all corners of the room for half an hour and I even had to hold myself back twice from hitting him flat on his face. I didn’t do that. I then told him that if he did this one more time, or even texted a letter to a woman within The Voice, whether it was a candidate or an employee, I would kick him out with his head and his ass.’
– John de Mol indicates that he had no knowledge of other accusations and that he would give everyone a second chance in such a case when that person had never had a complaint or anything like that before.
– There is another girl who has come forward. She would also have filed a complaint with the program, with the relevant employees. Did John know about this? No, he indicates. He has never heard of another girl or other victims.
– He did not conduct an investigation at that time, in 2019. This was chosen because there had never been a complaint filed between 2010 and 2019 and because he indicated to Linde de Jong that they had to keep a close eye on it. He trusts that after 2019, after that incident, nothing else happened. ‘That did happen,’ Tim immediately tells.
– John de Mol believes he has sufficient channels within the company to report misconduct.
– Does he want to say anything to the victims? ‘I hope that it does not have a big impact on the rest of their lives. That they can give it a place. That they can especially be an example and that they have hopefully learned to immediately raise the alarm, to report it immediately if it ever happens to them again in the future. Also because the wrongdoers can then be dealt with immediately, so they cannot do it any longer.’
– John de Mol wants to add that there have always been very strict procedures at The Voice Kids: a child is never alone, there is always someone present.
– Did he know the stories about Marco? ‘Now I do. Too late,’ he admits. ‘I must say that I have apparently made an incredible mistake in the person Marco Borsato, if they turn out to be true. Because I, to be very honest, still have a bit of trouble believing that Marco would be involved with children. I just can’t imagine it. That goes so far.’ But are the children lying then? ‘I don’t know, that will have to become clear. Investigations will be conducted into that and it will then have to become clear.’
– According to De Mol, it would only be possible if it happened ‘outside the studio’, because the children are never alone when they are inside the studio. ‘The stories about Marco and his barbecues, I have never been there myself, but I only hear from the people who have been there that it was so much fun. Never anything else.’
– Another question from Tim: ‘You call us, you want to talk to us. Why?’
‘I will explain that to you. I have been called by almost every talk show, every current affairs program: ‘Why aren't you reacting?’ And every time I said: ‘I want to react, but what should I react to?’ I want to see first what is being said, and then I will react. Not before. Because otherwise, I react in the same way that dozens of people have reacted in the past few days, which I honestly think 80 percent was nonsense. So at a certain point, I thought: okay, what should I react to? And then I suddenly thought: I would prefer to answer the questions you have asked me. And if you show me the program, I am willing to provide answers to those questions.’
– The very last question from Tim Hofman: ‘Do you feel responsible?’ ‘Yes, of course. Absolutely. I am in shock. That does not mean that I have seen it or swept it under the rug. Initially, this discussion is only about one thing: there are people who have been hurt, there are victims, and the interests of those people come first. And then there is a long time of nothing, and then the rest comes.’
Read here the statements after the letters from #BOOS requesting a response:
Here you will find the accountability of how and why this broadcast came about and was made
We can imagine that in light of the news surrounding The Voice, you may want to talk to someone about your own experience with sexual misconduct. Then feel free to contact:
* Victim Support Netherlands (0900-0101, Mon to Fri 08:00 – 20:00 or via chat at www.slachtofferhulp.nl)
* Sexual Violence Center (0800-0188, Mon to Fri 16:00 – 06:00, Sat and Sun from 20:00 to 06:00 or via chat at www.centrumseksueelgeweld.nl)
* Mind Korrelatie (0900-1450, Mon to Fri from 09:00 to 21:00, or via chat at www.mindkorrelatie.nl)
Image credits: Annemieke van der Togt
