Artist changes Apple, Foxconn monologue after admitting falsehoods [u]

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014


After admitting on the "This American Life" radio program that he had fabricated some of his experiences for dramatic purposes, artist Mike Daisey has changed his monologue about Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn to remove anything he can't "stand behind."



Update: Daisey has posted a recording of the new prologue from his performance on Sunday.



Associated Press drama writer Mark Kennedy reported on Saturday that Daisey had decided to add a prologue at the beginning of the show, which carries the title "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs," and cut out some fictional elements.



According to the report, the Public Theater's artistic director Oskar Eustis said that the artist had "eliminated anything he doesn't feel he can stand behind" and placed a new segment at the beginning to provide "the best possible frame we could give the audience for the controversy." He also noted that the decision to make the changes was solely made by Daisey.



"Mike is a great storyteller, not a journalist. I wish he had been clearer about that distinction in the making of this piece," Eustis told the publication. "If we had understood the rules Mike was using to make the show, we would have framed it differently from the outset."



Daisey's monologue recounted a trip that he took to China to visit a Foxconn factory where he claimed to have met underage workers and injured workers who hadn't received medical attention.



The production shot into the limelight after "This American Life" aired an episode about Daisey in January. The broadcast became the most downloaded episode of the show and prompted a number of consumers and non-profit groups to start petitions calling for Apple and Foxconn to improve working conditions in China.











However, journalist Rob Schmitz managed to contact Daisey's interpreter and confirm that several incidents he claimed to have experienced were false. For its part, "This American Life" had performed its own fact checking of Daisey's story, but they did not contact his interpreter because he told the show that her name was Anna and he didn't know how to reach her.



"This American Life" host Ira Glass issued on Friday a retraction of the January episode. The retraction was the first of its kind for the show.



"Daisey lied to me and 'This American Life' producer Brian Reed during the fact checking we did on the story, before it was broadcast," Glass wrote in a statement. "That doesn't excuse the fact that we never should've put this on the air. In the end, it was our mistake."



The New York Times subsequently corrected its own piece on Daisey from last year, removing a paragraph about which "questions have been raised" about its truthfulness.



In a statement on Friday, Daisey originally said that he stood by his work. "It uses a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story, and I believe it does so with integrity," he said, adding that his only regret is that he allowed "This American Life" to air an excerpt of his monologue.



The new version of the monologue now makes mention of the fact that Daisey's translator "does not remember things which he does remember," Eustis said.



Daisey has born the brunt of sharp criticism from veterans within the theater industry. For instance, The Wall Street Journal's chief theater critic Terry Teachout called Daisey's deceptions "unforgivable."



Others have worked to bring the focus back on the plight of the workers, dismissing Daisey's inaccuracies as irrelevant to the issue of alleged labor abuses at Foxconn and other manufacturers in China.



Apple has refused to comment on the controversy surrounding the monologue. CEO Tim Cook did, however, dismiss the show last February at an annual shareholder meeting. At the time, Cook reassured investors that Apple has "the highest standards" for worker safety and environmental friendliness.



"I don't need to see a play. I know Steve Jobs," he said.



[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 81
    ochymingochyming Posts: 474member
    Can Apple shareholders sue this EVIL clown?



    Anyone remember that Renault spying brouhaha in France, how heads rolled?.

    And How French government went full charge loaded blaming China?



    Why you can lie against a comapny like Apple or any other similar in the USA and nothing happens to you?





    : Something is wrong.
  • Reply 3 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ochyming View Post


    Can Apple shareholders sue this EVIL clown?



    Anyone remember that Renault spying brouhaha in France, how heads rolled?.

    And How French government went full charge loaded blaming China?



    Why you can lie against a comapny like Apple or any other similar in the USA and nothing happens to you?





    : Something is wrong.



    The laws covering libel and defamation are stricter in Europe. Here it is often non-existent due to the first amendment. Not that many cases have been awarded to the plantifs; you'd have to show that you got material damage, irreparable etc. Not easy for apple to prove that.
  • Reply 4 of 81
    markbyrnmarkbyrn Posts: 661member
    He must get his inspirations from Michael Moore.
  • Reply 5 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by markbyrn View Post


    He must get his inspirations from Michael Moore.



    Inspiration for what? Overeating?

    (Just kidding...I get what you mean)

  • Reply 6 of 81
    hill60hill60 Posts: 6,992member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    After admitting on the "This American Life" radio program that he had fabricated some of his experiences for dramatic purposes, artist Mike Daisey has changed his monologue about Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn to remove anything he can't "stand behind."



    I wonder who would pay to see a 10 second show?
  • Reply 7 of 81
    isheldonisheldon Posts: 570member
    Stake him!

    or

    Cease and desist him!
  • Reply 8 of 81
    dbtincdbtinc Posts: 134member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by markbyrn View Post


    He must get his inspirations from Michael Moore.



    could be ... both are two fat bas***ds who can't seem to separate fact, fiction and political leanings.
  • Reply 9 of 81
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    And by "stand behind" I guess he means anything that hasn't already been directly contradicted.



    I particularly laughed at this bit:



    Quote:

    The new version of the monologue now makes mention of the fact that Daisey's translator "does not remember things which he does remember," Eustis said.



    Following this:



    Quote:

    However, journalist Rob Schmitz managed to contact Daisey's interpreter and confirm that several incidents he claimed to have experienced were false. For its part, "This American Life" had performed its own fact checking of Daisey's story, but they did not contact his interpreter because he told the show that her name was Anna and he didn't know how to reach her.



    This guy's credibility is so shot that nothing he says can be believed.
  • Reply 10 of 81
    technotechno Posts: 737member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by markbyrn View Post


    He must get his inspirations from Michael Moore.



    What is nice about this site is that we can all exchange ideas about a culture we all share and enjoy without bringing divisive politics into it.



    Your comment appears to be shark chum.
  • Reply 11 of 81
    Yep, it is all about the money... Daisey was making $$$$$$ from this and "This American Life" was making $$$$$$$$$$ from this. (Public Radio and Ira Glass are for PROFIT - maybe not actual dollars for these two but certainly reputation and success in fund raising!!!)



    So, profit wins over truth - every time! I listened to the "retraction" this weekend. Ira and company did give Daisey opportunity for retraction and asked "tough" questions AND then spent 20 minutes whining that they had been used. AND THEN spent 20 minutes trying to show how "most" of Daisey's monolog was "substantially correct."



    They were squirming like a worm on a hook and like most over-the-hill organizations applying MAJOR spin doctor techniques to make it look "as good as possible." Desperate damage control!!!



    The subtext:

    "See how honest we are. We were USED and by the way we weren't that dishonest. We found a way to look BIG by attacking the most successful company on the planet. And look how we were able to damage it. Aren't we important?" ??!??!
  • Reply 12 of 81
    rabbit_coachrabbit_coach Posts: 1,114member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ochyming View Post


    Can Apple shareholders sue this EVIL clown?



    Anyone remember that Renault spying brouhaha in France, how heads rolled?.

    And How French government went full charge loaded blaming China?



    Why you can lie against a comapny like Apple or any other similar in the USA and nothing happens to you?





    : Something is wrong.



    It's easier to sue Apple for iPhones, that didn't survive microwave drying.
  • Reply 13 of 81
    He's no "artist".
  • Reply 14 of 81
    Mike Daisey, following the frequent name changes of Prince, should change his to "Liar known as Artist"
  • Reply 15 of 81
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Funky Chicken View Post


    He's no "artist".



    He's a bullshit artist, just like a number of regular posters on these forums, even if certain of the mods don't like it when we point out the truth.
  • Reply 16 of 81
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Funky Chicken View Post


    He's no "artist".



    I beg to differ! He's is what is known as a bull$h1t artist
  • Reply 17 of 81
    Can't believe all the priceless publicity this lying lowlife is getting (recognizing that I am contributing to it too).



    Very clever on his part.
  • Reply 18 of 81
    Early christmas: having this pig sued for all the money he made plus extras... joy...



    It is not because it involved Apple or not... just because that kind of crap should NEVER just go with a "rewrite" of the mess... He did it for money, now... get ready for loose everything you made plus interest...
  • Reply 19 of 81
    haarhaar Posts: 563member
    i think "Mr. Phatty"(Mike Daisey), should rename his show "The possible Agony and Heartbreak of the late Steve Jobs"...
  • Reply 20 of 81
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    If it really was about the art then he shouldn't be changing his show.
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