"Should have known from the start," RTL director says about sexual misconduct on The Voice

RTL Program director Peter van der Vorst called it "painful" that the channel did not know of the transgressive behavior behind the scenes at The Voice. Van der Vorst said in the talk show Beau that even after specific inquires by RTL with producer ITV whether there was anything they needed to know, nothing was reported.

Last summer, BOOS program director Tim Hofman called on former talent show participants to come forward if they had a bad experience while on the show. Van der Vorst said he "absolutely did not know that."

"If we had known that the bandleader of The Voice had sent very inappropriate messages to candidates, we would have fired him," Van der Vorst said. Contrary to what former Voice producer John de Mol claimed in BOOS on Thursday. Van der Vorst does think that Rietbergen occupied a dominant position in the program. "Naturally, he did," Van der Vorst said.

RTL will not be conducting a separate investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations. Instead, the T.V. channel will participate in ITV's inquiry with law firm Van Doorne. Van der Vorst said the program would, in any case, not be returning anytime soon. "It is a program that people have enjoyed participating in and that has now been tainted. The format is very strong. But it will not return in the short term."