“The Voice of Holland”
Casting show scandal: More and more former participants are reporting assaults
The closed studio of “The Voice of Holland”
© robin utrecht / Picture Alliance
In the Dutch media, more and more former participants in the casting show “The Voice of Holland” are reporting attacks. The Justice Department called on potential victims to report the incident.
Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, told the “Telegraaf” that the abuses were “unacceptable and outrageous”. The scandal surrounding the casting show “The Voice of Holland” is spreading. More and more former participants in the casting show “The Voice of Holland” are reporting assaults in the Dutch media. The Justice Department called on potential victims to report the incident. What exactly happened behind the scenes of the show should become clear on Thursday in the online program “Boos”.
So far, a jury member and a musician have been accused. Former bandleader Jeroen Rietbergen admitted abuse of power and resigned. On the other hand, rapper and jury member Ali B. rejects all allegations. A complaint was filed against him.
The program “Boos”, which means “angry”, produced by a public TV station, had reported on several incidents. The TV broadcaster RTL Nederland then canceled the casting show and announced an investigation. In the meantime, sponsors withdrew and singer Anouk left the jury. Former participants of the show now report in the media that they had to listen to lewd remarks, were groped and harassed. They felt vulnerable and threatened.
The media family de Mol is closely involved in “The Voice of Holland” affair
It’s the biggest #MeToo affair in Dutch show business to date. It is particularly explosive because the prominent media family de Mol is closely involved. Developed by TV producer John de Mol, The Voice of Holland has since been sold to dozens of countries. In addition, the accused musician Rietbergen was the partner of John de Mol’s sister Linda. De Mol has not yet commented.
After the allegations became known, Linda de Mol ended her relationship with Rietbergen after 14 years (the star reported). The 57-year-old celebrity TV presenter also took time off from her job. “I’ve been in a terrible nightmare for a few days,” she wrote on her media platform Linda.nl.
Her ex-boyfriend previously admitted that he had sexual contacts with women from the TV show. He had apologized and said he had underestimated his position of power. He assumed an equal relationship. Only now did he realize that the women “may have experienced it differently”.
Rietbergen had also stated that the incidents were a few years ago. At that time he had already been admonished by “my client” and he had confessed everything to his wife and had therapy. But Linda explained that she had known nothing about anything.