In a new blog post, besmirched playwright Mike Daisey apologizes for the methods behind his controversial monologue about Foxconn’s iPad factories, and says that “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.” Daisey adds that “in doing so, I not only violated their trust, I also made worse art.” Daisey was pelted by the media after This American Life retracted an episode that was partially based on Daisey’s monologue, which has been gutted by fact-checkers that found his claims about interviewing Foxconn workers in China dubious at best. While others have defended Daisey’s work, including Steve Wozniak and Daisey himself, it’s now quite clear that Daisey fabricated facts, regardless of any interpretation of artistic license.
Mike Daisey issues first actual apology for his monologue, says he ‘violated trust’
In a new blog post, besmirched playright Mike Daisey apologizes for the methods behind his monologue, and says that “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.”
In a new blog post, besmirched playright Mike Daisey apologizes for the methods behind his monologue, and says that “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.”
In this latest confession, Daisey apologizes to his audience, his colleagues in the theatre, to human rights advocates, and to journalists. He says that “things came out of my mouth that just weren’t true, and over time, I couldn’t even hear the difference myself.” So is this the final act in Daisey’s wearisome apology? It’s hard to tell, but if history is any indication, we won’t be surprised if there’s an encore.
