Dutch royal under fire over controversial #metoo tweet

Pieter an Vollenhoven, husband of Princess Margriet, is facing criticism after posting a controversial tweet about the #metoo discussion on Tuesday night. He has since removed the tweet. The Victim Aid Fund, of which Van Vollenhoven is honorary chairman, called the tweet "absolutely awkward", RTL Nieuws reports.

"Can you as man still give a woman the hand or does that fall under the chapter unwanted intimacies. I think that's a borderline case!?" Van Vollenhoven posted on Twitter, causing surprise and outrage on the social media platform. The tweet was removed by Wednesday morning. RTL Nieuws tried to get a comment from Van Vollenhoven, but he wants to say "no more about it", a spokesperson told the broadcaster.

The tweet was met with shock and outrage on the social media platform, even more so because Van Vollenhoven is the honorary chairman of the Victim Aid Fund. "If you do not know the difference between a hand and assault, you should rather keep your hands to yourself", one Twitter user responded. A few wondered whether Van Vollenhoven's account was hacked.

Nicky Bredemeijer of the fund told RTL Nieuws that the tweet was "absolutely awkward". "Van Vollenhoven often tweets with a cynical look about the news, but this tweet did not work out so well", she said to the broadcaster, adding: "I would like to emphasize that Van Vollenhoven is absolutely committed to the victims."

The #metoo discussion about sexual harassment that took the United States by storm, also started surfacing in the Netherlands over the past weeks. Multiple actors are pressing charges of sexual intimidation against Dutch producer and director Job Gosschalk, who released a statement on Tuesday acknowledging that he "crossed boundaries" and announcing his resignation. Jelle Brandt Corstius pressed rape charges against producer Gijs van Dam, who in turn is suing Brandt Corstius for libel and slander.

CDA Senator Ria Oomen came forward to tell that she was molested by a minister when she was a young politician. Professor Vanessa Evers of the University of Twente spoke about various incidents of sexual abuse in the science world. And ING decided to drop American actor Kevin Spacey from a speaking event later this month due to numerous allegations of sexual assault made against him.