The Unexpectedโ Tribute:โข How Bickering on The Masked Singer โ Honored Loretta schrijver
The passingโข of โDutch televisionโ personality Loretta Schrijver in โ2025 prompted โtributes across various programs, but perhaps the most fitting – and ironically, the one she might have most disliked โข -โ unfolded during The masked Singer.While formal tributes were โdelivered by Ruben Nicolai and โCarlo Boszhard,it wasโ the program’s usual playfulโ chaos that truly capturedโ her spirit.
Schrijver, known for her preference to observe โฃand comment on theโฃ worldโ around her rather than be the center of โคattention, particularlyโ disliked focus on her illness.โค as those who โฃknew her understood, she preferred to โฃlet theโ story unfold and โคoffer her outlook – whether it was identifying โขa celebrity in costume or celebratingโค the life ofโข a remarkableโค pig, as she did narrating the Videoland โdocumentary โ SAM: For the Love of Life.โค A portrait of โSam was initially withheld from broadcast โfollowing Schrijver’s death, a testament to her pride in the project.
Comparisons were โคdrawn to the commemoration of another Dutch โtelevision icon, Dieuwertje Blok, on Sinterklaas news, which featured a more โขsubdued tribute -โข a simple message accompanying a shot โof waves: “For Dieuwertje.” While Blok might have appreciated this understated approach, it’s likely Schrijver would have found it uncomfortable.
Instead, the enduring spirit of โSchrijver was best embodied inโฃ the โfamiliar bickering of theโ The Masked โSinger โค panel. Wiht the panelโฃ structure changed to two โteams, the usual playful arguments over clues – this time centering on whether theโ contestant was Marga Bult – continued unabated. โAs โคone observer โฃnoted, she might have been shouting โfrom somewhere, glass of wine in hand: “You fools, โcan’t you seeโฃ that it’s Tallโข frans!”
This continuation of the โคprogram’s established dynamic, the very thing โSchrijver often wryly โcommented on, served as a more authentic tribute โthanโ any formal speech.Marga โbult,alongside Kluun,wasโข the first contestant eliminated โon Friday evening,and later shared her experience.โ But it was the show going on,โ with its โคcharacteristicโค energy,โฃ that truly โhonored the woman โฃwho so often provided theโ insightful, andโข often โhumorous, commentary from the sidelines.
