Ongehoord Nederland (ON!) chairman Arnold Karskens

Sunday, 4 August 2024 - 10:00

ON! chairman Arnold Karskens suspended after complaints of transgressive behavior

Chairman Arnold Karskens of Ongehoord Nederland (ON!) has been suspended by the supervisory board, the broadcaster announced on X. The reason for this is "a number of serious complaints within the organization about his working methods."

The aspiring broadcaster received complaints about, among other things, "improper and/or transgressive behavior" by chairman Arnold Karskens. The supervisory board wrote this in a letter in which Karskens was informed why he had been suspended. ON! shared this letter on its website on Saturday.

Voor de openheid en volledigheid: hierbij de brief met de gronden waarop de Raad van Toezicht Arnold Karskens per 2 augustus jl. op non-actief heeft gesteld.https://t.co/G70rEaUWkp
— Ongehoord Nederland TV (@ongehoordnedtv) August 3, 2024

According to the supervisory board, complaints were received about, among other things, an "unsafe working atmosphere and a culture of fear." In addition, people would feel a "restriction of freedom of expression," and Karskens would have made "misogynistic remarks" to female employees. "You were addressed by the supervisory board about this, but you have allowed this situation to continue," the board wrote to Karskens.

The complaints are being investigated. Further, the broadcaster reports, "but are of such a nature that the supervisory board has taken this step in consultation with the Members' Council." Karskens has had to resign from his duties immediately and is not allowed to contact "persons working for and involved with Ongehoord Nederland," ON! wrote.

Karskens also shared the news on X and spoke of "false and anonymous allegations" and a "coup." According to the Supervisory Board, there is "absolutely no question of this."

Beste mensen, Er wordt een coup gepleegd tegen mij als oprichter en voorzitter van omroep Ongehoord Nederland door RvT-leden @drG_J_Mulder en Rob Legeland (@Percolator_HNJ) en medebestuursleden @petervlemmix en Nienke van Herksen (@nienkeinermelo). Ik ben op non-actief gezet na… pic.twitter.com/SOxCaIEawS
— Arnold Karskens (@arnoldkarskens) August 3, 2024

The Supervisory Board rejected the accusation of a coup and was initially planning to clarify this personnel matter internally, but Arnold's statements on social media no longer allowed this. "We would have preferred to resolve matters internally first before making substantive comments. However, given his incorrect statements about a “coup”, Karskens leaves us no choice. We emphasize that this is absolutely not the case."

Via deze weg willen wij jullie op de hoogte brengen van het feit dat ON!-voorzitter Arnold Karskens per 2 augustus jl. door de Raad van Toezicht op non-actief is gesteld. Dit naar aanleiding van een aantal serieuze klachten vanuit de eigen organisatie over zijn functioneren. Deze…
— Ongehoord Nederland TV (@ongehoordnedtv) August 3, 2024

Karskens shared a letter on X that he sent to the Members' Council following his suspension. According to him, he was accused of "bullying" presenter Raisa Blommestijn away. Karskens denies that he "forbade" her to tweet and claims he never raised his voice. According to him, Blommestijn also resigned. The presenter announced on Saturday that she is returning to the broadcaster.

Presenter Raisa Blommestijn announced on Saturday that she will return to the broadcaster. She quit earlier this year after Karskens asked her to stop giving her opinion on X. "Fortunately, the supervisory board and the board of directors have now retroactively acknowledged that I was treated unfairly. They asked me to return to the broadcaster, something I promised to do after Karskens was suspended," said Blommestijn on X.

Karskens requested the supervisory board to reverse the suspension. He also wants an independent investigation to be conducted.

Reporting by ANP and NL Times