Gordon Heuckeroth

Gordon made multiple racist remarks to Dutch-Chinese contestant Xiao Wang on the TV show Holland's Got Talent in November 2013. Comments, mainly referring to Chinese restaurants, such as "Which number are you singing? Number 39 with rice?", "Surplise!", "He looks like a waiter from a Chinese restaurant", and "This is the best Chinese I've had in weeks, and it's not a takeaway," have been described as highly offensive to those of Chinese and Asian heritage. The incident challenged the Netherlands' supposed tolerant reputation on issues related to diversity.

Within a few days after the broadcast, the clip went viral online, and Gordon's racist comments drew heavy criticism on international media and social media outlets. The Amsterdam Discrimination Hotline ("MDRA") issued a letter to the show asking for an explanation of Gordon's behavior, and states that while humor and exaggeration are generally acceptable on a public platform, "there is a line that can be crossed," and "the singer has the potential of influencing a large group." On 27 November 2013, the hotline filed an official complaint with RTL Netherlands in regard to Gordon's racist treatment of Xiao Wang.

Gordon joined Gerard Joling and Rene Froger in a series of concerts under the name De Toppers. De Toppers represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia, but never made it to the final, finishing in seventeenth place in the semi-final. In 2009, Gordon left De Toppers. A few weeks later, Gordon rejoined De Toppers.

Gordon eventually got his own radio show on Radio 538. Later on he moved to Noordzee FM. On television, he became the host of Gordon's Late Nicht Show (in this context nicht means queer) and Gordon's Life Style. In 2005, Gordon joined his 'Toppers' colleague Gerard Joling in Joling & Gordon over de vloer. Gordon also appeared in the shows Thuis and in Vijf tegen Vijf. In 2007 Gordon starred in a show on RTL 4 called Gillend naar huis ('Screaming back home'), in which he joins Dutch families during their foreign holidays. He joined the jury of Idols Netherlands in 2007.

Gordon was turned down at the Soundmixshow and came in third in the National Songfestival contest. At first he sang only romantic songs like Ik hou van jou (I love you) and Omdat ik zo van je hou (Because I love you so much), but later in the '90s his repertoire shifted to Dutch R&B. Gordon participated in the national finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2003, finishing second after Esther Hart.

Cornelis Willem (Gordon) Heuckeroth (born 6 July 1968, Amsterdam) is a Dutch performer and radio and television personality, known by his nickname Gordon. As a singer, he had a Dutch number one hit with the single Kon ik maar even bij je zijn ('If I could be with you for just a while'). Gordon has an estimated fortune of €8 million.

Gordon was born on 6 July 1968 in the north of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Before he became a professional performer, Gordon worked as a salesman on the streetmarket.