The VRT’s youth music station Studio Brussels has issued an apology after three of its presenters smashed up Christian icons in a “Blue Monday” video. Although the video footage was published online 2 months ago, it has been in the eye of a storm in recent days after an Irish journalist quizzed. Sam De Bruyn, Eva De Roo and Dries Lenaerts about it at the Radiodays conference in the Latvian capital Riga.
Irish journalist confronts VRT-radio presenters that smashed Christian icons in “Blue Monday” video
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Colm Flynn asked the 3 presenters is they would smash up Jewish or Islamic icons in the same way that they had done Christian ones. Colm Flynn works for several media, including the Catholic news medium EWTN News. In the rage room video Sam De Bruyn, Eva De Roo and Dries Lenaerts sash up several items, including a computer screen and a dinner service. However, their destroying statues of the Virgin Mary and Jezus Christ caught the attention of Mr Flynn.
He confronted the VRT-radio presenters about their actions during an interview at the Radiodays Europe conference in Riga, in Letland. Colm Flynn then posted the interview on the social media plaform X, where it has already been viewed several hundred thousand times.
The Irish journalist asked the presenters if what they had done isn’t offensive to Christians. Sam De Bruyn recognised that some people could feel offended, but it wasn’t an issue in Belgium and certainly not for the people that listen to Studio Brussel. He was keen to stress that all the items destroyed in the video were already broken.
When asked if they would have done the same with Jewish of Islamic symbols the presenters said that they wouldn’t. Colm Flynn said that this is hypocritical, a view shared by most people that have reacted to the video online.
In a reaction Eva De Roo said “We are all from a Christian background. So, we are laughing at ourselves”.
Sam De Bruyn added that "It is different if you di dit to things from a religion you know nothing about”.
Eva De Roo admits that "It would have been better not to have done this. We simply didn’t think too much about it”.