Mike Daisey apologizes for his exaggerations and falsehoods involving Apple in China
Following an exposé that dismantled the accuracy of his claims regarding workers' conditions among the manufacturers in China Apple uses to build its products, performer Mike Daisey has offered a new, broader apology.
Writing on the subject of getting the facts right when telling stories, Daisey acknowledged in his blog, "I fell short in The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs."
Daisy added, "when I said onstage that I had personally experienced things I in fact did not, I failed to honor the contract I’d established with my audiences over many years and many shows. In doing so, I not only violated their trust, I also made worse art."
He concluded, "I am sorry for where I have failed. I will look closer, be more patient, and listen more clearly. I will be humble before the work."
While Daisey specifically apologized to the audiences he lied to, apologized to "my colleagues in the theater, especially those who work in non-fiction and documentary fields," apologized to "journalists I gave interviews to in which I exaggerated my own experiences Things came out of my mouth that just weren’t true, and over time, I couldn’t even hear the difference myself," and apologized to "human rights advocates and those who have been doing the hard work of bringing attention to these kinds of labor issues for years," he didn't offer any apologies to the actual target of his lies and exaggerations.

No apologies for smearing Apple
Beyond the plausible-sounding events Daisey falsely claimed to observe as an eyewitness, he also stated to various media sources that Apple, and the company's then chief executive Steve Jobs, were fully aware of the events but refused to take any action because they didn't care about what was going on in China.
In the context of his false story about meeting many workers who were 12 to 14 years old, Daisey rhetorically asked "Do you really think Apple doesn’t know? In a company obsessed with the details, with the aluminum being milled just so, with the glass being fitted perfectly into the case, do you really think it’s credible that they don’t know?"
Daisey's monologue has played for over a year, creating and pushing momentum behind a story that was picked up by a wide variety of media outlets, despite Apple's efforts to transparently and accurately report was what actually occurring in China, and detailing what actions it was taking to stop problems it discovered in its regular audits dating back to 2006.
Dramatic apology almost as phony as the show
It was only over the past two weeks that his story began to unravel, when radio show "This American Life" retracted its episode on Apple after investigating Daisey's claims.
When the translator Daisey had worked with to obtain reports of child employees, workers crippled by hexane, and threatening armed security guards was identified by investigators, she testified that the stories Daisey told were fictional fabrications.
Right up until his work was outed as a series of exaggerations and lies, Daisey continued to insist that his play was factually accurate and based on his real world observations, complaining to skeptical critic Brian Ford, "You insulted my art form and my work, at length, without knowing what it is, proud of how ignorant you are, and your sneering and contempt say a lot more about your worth than I ever could. You insulted my integrity, and in a better world we should settle this in an alley outside a bar of your choice the next time I'm in Kansas City."
Despite his apologies to audiences, the theater, journalists and human rights workers, Daisey is still unapologetically selling tickets to his show.
[ View article on AppleInsider ]
Comments
Pants on fire?
Sorry for the harshness of this post, but I think Apple and Tim Cook should sue the living crap out of this blowhard moron to make sure such lies and distortions are never "free" for someone like him ever again. Punch him in the pocketbook hard and mercilessly. He'll think twice next time before baselessly defaming someone who cannot answer back.
+++++
Fatass SOB should be relegated to cleaning urinals in theaters.
Art? What he does is not art, it's BS of the worst smelling kind. These kind of actions should not be tolerated by any business or society.
I will look closer, be more patient, and listen more clearly.
Like any of the above would keep him from lying.
Sorry for the harshness of this post, but I think Apple and Tim Cook should sue the living crap out of this blowhard moron to make sure such lies and distortions are never "free" for someone like him ever again. Punch him in the pocketbook hard and mercilessly. He'll think twice next time before baselessly defaming someone who cannot answer back.
Couldn't agree more. Apple should ask he be fined in the form of community service or donate the monies to a charity. He definitely should be made an example of. Quite honestly, I feel shabby journalism such as HeatGate from Consumer Report, now shown to be the same as Androids doing the same task, is just as bad. It's in the same vein. It's all about using Apple's hard won fame as a way for these cretins to get attention.
Sorry for the harshness of this post, but I think Apple and Tim Cook should sue the living crap out of this blowhard moron to make sure such lies and distortions are never "free" for someone like him ever again. Punch him in the pocketbook hard and mercilessly. He'll think twice next time before baselessly defaming someone who cannot answer back.
GUY's A MORON just like his BUTT bro Michael Moore-on
[Apple was] fully aware of the events but refused to take any action because they didn't care about what was going on in China. [...]
"in a better world we should settle this in an alley outside a bar of your choice the next time I'm in Kansas City."
Pathetic. He's only sorry he got caught.
Oh, sorry! My bad. Only some of what I said might be embellished.
Gotta love a loop-hole, but not this a**hole.
"... You insulted my integrity, and in a better world we should settle this in an alley outside a bar of your choice the next time I'm in Kansas City."
I'm your huckleberry
The tone of the replies thus far makes the Apple community look petty, reactionary, and tone deaf. Yelling about his weight does nothing to prove your point, and makes you look like a sad, pedantic troll. Drop the ad hominem bullshit. Address the issue of dishonesty, move on, stop acting like sad little children.
Did they hurt your feelings, tubby?
I would like to see Apple sue him for defamation just on the principle of it, but it might not be very smart PR.
That's exactly why I suggested Apple make a point of asking any award be donated to a worthy charity, teaching ethics to journalists maybe?
Those people (who I have met in fact) then go on to buy Chinese-made electronics from some other company instead. A company that doesn?t do nearly what Apple does to improve these issues.
Nice work.
And none of the press coverage on this situation EVER seems to mention that these are NOT Apple problems (even the ones that are real) but problems of ALL companies manufacturing in China. Everyone but Apple still gets off the hook. And no comparison is made between Apple and other companies.
So even people who DO understand that Daisey lied still think Apple is worse than other Chinese-sourced goods.