Suzanne Kunzeler (Director of BNNVara) after the presentation of the research report on social safety at the public broadcaster and the NPO. Image ANP
After De Volkskrant wrote last year about a long-standing culture of fear at DWDD, broadcaster BNNVara spoke to 120 former employees. These conversations showed that they had experienced physical intimidation and sexual misconduct, BNNVara boss Kunzeler said on Thursday evening. de Volkskrant and talk show Sophie & Jeroen. That was not known until now. The complaints were exclusively about Matthijs van Nieuwkerk and not about other managers, says Kunzeler.
Physical intimidation involves ‘grabbing the throat, pulling it over the table and pushing it to the ground’, presenter Jeroen Pauw recalls the findings of the Van Rijn committee. Such behavior would have occurred at DWDD and then it only concerned Van Nieuwkerk, Kunzeler states. According to the employees, the “inappropriate relationships” that former employees mentioned were also only with him, Kunzeler said.
Woman received 20,000 euros
For example, there was a DWDD employee who had a relationship with Van Nieuwkerk and received ‘almost 20,000 euros’ from the broadcaster when she left. An ‘unworkable situation’ had arisen when the relationship broke down, according to de Volkskrant. “This was considered at the time as an equal relationship with mutual consent,” says Kunzeler. “The woman in question no longer wanted to work at BNNVara after the relationship ended, and it was therefore decided to terminate her employment. Due to her long service and the abrupt end, she has received a number of monthly salaries to bridge the gap.”
In retrospect, Kunzeler finds this sexually inappropriate behavior on Van Nieuwkerk’s part. “Because of the unequal power relationship, the presenter should have been confronted about it. That did not happen and that is a shame, especially because it had major consequences for the woman in question.”
‘Matthijs also a victim’
Kunzeler calls Van Nieuwkerk ‘in a certain sense also a victim of all this’. “He was not confronted about this. Of course he was also part of the culture himself. He had a very large share in that, I don’t detract from that. Everyone is responsible for their own behavior. His behavior was very serious and I condemn his actions. But ultimately management is responsible for the program. They should have intervened.”
Matthijs van Nieuwkerk emphatically disapproves of Kunzeler’s claims. “Kunzeler is talking about things that I do not recognize and to which I cannot respond,” he tells Sophie & Jeroen in writing. ‘I have not been guilty of sexual or physical misconduct. The Van Rijn Committee has not established this either. To read these accusations from my former employer today is truly astonishing. Kunzeler proves himself to be a very unreliable former employer.’
Earlier Thursday, Van Nieuwkerk once again expressed regret for his behavior during the time of DWDD. He is now under contract with RTL and should return to TV this spring. According to the commercial channel, Van Nieuwkerk has ‘publicly acknowledged, apologized and shown self-reflection’ his mistakes as presenter of DWDD and has gained new insights into his behavior. “Now it is time for him to get back to work as a presenter with those new insights.”
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2024-02-01 20:37:55
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