Monday, 28 April 2014 - 09:38
Mayor did not mean to grab Queen's butt
The Mayor of Amstelveen, Fred de Graaf, has ruffled a few feathers after a YouTube clip appeared in which he seems to be touching the butt of Queen Máxima during a tour of the city.
The clip, posted by Kevin P. Roberson, has been seen over 1 million times. The comments on the site echo a spectator as he exclaims that De Graaf grabs her butt.
The user who posted the clip says that he did not edit the clip any further than showing the footage twice, once as a wide shot and once zoomed in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v8ouSEeNFE
A spokesperson for the municipality says that it was an unfortunate shot. Mayor De Graaf told the NOS: "It's nothing that I can remember and completely not something that I would consciously do. I know very well that this is not proper."
According to Joop.nl, it is difficult to tell whether or not the butt grab did indeed happen because the video was recorded with a zoom lens, making it difficult to grasp the perspective. It's hard to ascertain whether the mayor's hand actually touched the butt or whether he is holding his hand out behind the Queen.
Kevin P. Roberson is a reporter for Examiner. He is the journalist who asked a question about Zwarte Piet during a press conference of the Nuclear Security Summit, which landed Prime Minister Mark Rutte in some trouble with his answer. He said Zwarte Piet is black because his name is Black Pete, and he can't change that. He also said "I can only say that my friends in the Dutch Antilles, they are very happy when they have Sinterklaas because they don't have to paint their faces. And when I'm playing for Black Pete, I am for days trying to get off the stuff on my face."