Several names mentioned after sexually transgressive behavior The Voice

UPDATERTL and producer ITV have decided not to broadcast The Voice of Holland for the time being. The channel reports that allegations of sexually transgressive behavior and abuse of power have been received and wants to get to the bottom of what exactly is going on. Band leader Jeroen Rietbergen confesses his involvement and resigns immediately.

'On Wednesday, January 12, the editors of the BNNVARA program BOOS sent us an email with allegations of sexually transgressive behavior and abuse of power surrounding The Voice of Holland . The allegations are very serious and shocking and were not known to RTL," RTL said.

The channel has decided in joint consultation with the producer of the singing program to temporarily shut down The Voice of Holland . Rietbergen was extensively featured in the third episode, as could already be seen on Videoland. "On the basis of these allegations, producer ITV has been contacted and a mutual agreement has been reached that ITV will immediately initiate a diligent, independent investigation. We take this extremely seriously. Participants, employees, everyone must be able to work in complete safety. There is no room for interpretation in this. The priority now is to get the facts on the table.'

ITV said it was shocked by the allegations. “Our highest priority is to provide a safe and supportive environment for everyone who participates in – or works on – our shows and ITV Studios has a zero-tolerance policy towards the kind of behavior it is said to be. occurred."

Confession

According to BNNVARA, band leader Jeroen Rietbergen, the partner of presenter Linda de Mol and brother-in-law of The Voice creator John de Mol, sent a confession to the editors of BOOS today . According to the broadcaster, he will stop his work immediately.

In the press release, BNNVARA further reports: 'In the spring of 2021, the BOOS editors received stories about alleged sexually transgressive behavior within The Voice of Holland . A call from BOOS followedpresenter Tim Hofman in which he asked whether there are more people who have experienced something at talent shows that are not acceptable. Numerous reactions followed from people who claim to have been victims or witnesses of abuse of power and sexually transgressive behavior on The Voice . This does not only concern charges against Jeroen Rietbergen, but charges against several people within the program.

Linda de Mol's management says that the presenter and wife of Van Rietbergen will not comment on the allegations . Rietbergen has since deleted his Instagram account.

Charges against Ali B.

This site has spoken to several sources associated with the program. They claim that Ali B. was also guilty of sexually transgressive behaviour. Earlier this week, a complaint was filed against a person "related" to the TV program The Voice of Holland . His lawyer today confirms to this site that it is Ali B..

SPEC, the artist management agency of Ali B and his wife Breghje Kommers, has taken note of the allegations on Instagram. "A lot is still unclear, but one thing is clear: Ali has never abused his position and has never behaved sexually across borders. We await the investigation with confidence," the statement reads.

The rapper also responds to the allegations on his personal page. “I am 100 percent convinced of my innocence. It is an accusation of something that would have happened a long time ago, but that is not true. I am taken by surprise by this. No name has been given, nothing concrete. I can't defend myself against that, let alone in the media, but the damage has been done.'

Ali says he has not yet received a call from the police, but is willing to cooperate with all investigations. “Again, it's not true and I'm confident the investigation will prove it. I find this state of affairs very unjust', he concludes.

Comments

Waylon's management, who can be seen as a coach in The Voice , says: ,,The only reaction that is appropriate here is that it is terrible what has happened. Waylon is not involved in this and RTL has confirmed this to us.”

Chantal Janzen, who has been presenting the program since 2019, is also shocked by the messages. She wishes everyone involved via Instagram a lot of strength. "Shocked about the messages about The Voice ," Janzen writes in her Instagram Stories. 'Shame on the hard-working people on and in this program who know nothing about this and have nothing to do with it. Bottom stone must be on top.'

Martijn Krabbé says he is in shock by the news. He presented the first nine seasons together with Wendy van Dijk. Her place was then taken over by Chantal Janzen. “I am completely taken aback and in shock by the news about The Voice . Terrible. It is very good that everything is investigated. I hope the truth comes out," Krabbé tweeted. 'For now I want to wish everyone who has suffered damage and grief as a result of this a lot of strength.'

Jamai Loman, who can be seen as a host in the program, is also shocked and saddened by the news, he reports in his Instagram Stories. “I hope things will be cleared up soon, especially for those who have been hurt and hurt. It is the right choice, in the interest of all involved, to suspend the broadcast.'

Sponsors behind the program were also taken aback by the news. “We have decided, based on all the reports of the past 24 hours , to immediately stop sponsoring the current The Voice Of Holland . We disapprove of any form of transgressive behavior and as a company we expressly distance ourselves from this. Once again our condolences go out to all involved. Lidl, also sponsor, says: ,,We were informed today that the program has been suspended. We are awaiting further information or investigation.”

Not the first program

The Voice of Holland is not the first program that RTL has to scrutinize because of possible transgressive behaviour. In 2019, the channel temporarily decided not to broadcast reality programs after sexually transgressive behavior in De Villa , in which eight bachelors moved into a luxury villa for a week.

The program showed that a participant had to knock off an intrusive fellow candidate several times. One of the participants told her story anonymously in Tim Hofman's program #BOOS. RTL immediately decided to stop De Villa and similar programs Temptation Island and Love Island .

The Voice has been taken off the tube for the time being after reports of sexually transgressive behaviour. Do you know more about this or do you want to report another abuse? Then it is best to send us a message via WhatsApp or Signal on: +31615377185 . You can also send an email to tips@ad.nl or tip via Publeaks . You can tip us anonymously through all these channels . We will treat your data in confidence in accordance with our privacy statement .