Daisey firestorm sparks questions about art, truth

NEW YORK (AP) - Mike Daisey, a burly man who makes a living telling stories, has found himself in the middle of a storm of controversy _ put there by his own words.

The performer had to admit Friday that much of his latest monologue, in which he describes iPhones and iPads being made in Chinese sweatshops, is a mix of fact and fiction, something he failed to point out during a media blitz promoting his critically acclaimed piece.

“It uses a combination of fact, memoir, and dramatic license to tell its story, and I believe it does so with integrity,” Daisey said in a statement posted on his website. He did not answer questions sent to his personal email account and his publicist did not return request for comment Saturday.

The firestorm started after Ira Glass, the host of the popular public radio show “This American Life,” aired an interview in which Daisey acknowledged some claims in his one-man show “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” weren’t true, and Glass said he couldn’t vouch for the truth of a Jan. 6 broadcast based on the show.

The New York Times, The Associated Press and dozens of other media and entertainment outlets, from MSNBC to Bill Maher’s show on HBO, also were misled.

The revelations are unlikely to halt scrutiny of Chinese factories that make Apple products since news outlets including the Times have reported dangerous working conditions there, including explosions inside iPad plants where four people were killed and 77 were injured.

But Daisey’s career, which had been hot, is likely to take a hit and some of his older monologues might get a second look.

“If he had only chosen to actually utilize what theatre allows you to do _ which is to transform fact into something that retains an emotional truth,” said Howard Sherman, a former executive director of the American Theatre Wing and a respected arts administrator and producer. He didn’t see Daisey’s show but said he thought it might “call into question people who do this in the future.”

Daisey is just the latest artist to apparently get tripped up by the truth _ joining a list that includes James Frey, who admitted that he lied in his memoir “A Million Little Pieces,” and Greg Mortenson, who is accused of fabricating key parts of his best-selling book “Three Cups of Tea.”

The controversy raised once again the question of the artist’s role in society and what his or her responsibility is to the truth. And has Daisey ultimately hurt or harmed the very people he was trying to help?

Terry Teachout, chief theater critic for The Wall Street Journal, called Daisy a talented artist but said the episode was “unforgivable,” and Peter Marks, the critic for The Washington Post, tweeted that Daisey’s “zeal seems to have gotten the better of his judgment.” Chris Jones at the Chicago Tribune suspected Daisey “was seduced by the glare of attention.”

Daisey, who performs his monologues seated at a desk and using notes, has previously tackled everything from dysfunctional dot-coms to the international financial crisis. A movie has been made of his monologue “If You See Something Say Something,” and in a weird twist, he did a 2006 show called “Truth” about how art and fact mix. In it, Daisey admitted he once fabricated a story because it “connected” with the audience.

Daisey told Glass he felt conflicted about presenting things that he knew weren’t true. But he said he felt “trapped” and was afraid people would no longer care about the abuses at the factories if he didn’t present things in a dramatic way.

In an interview with the AP last year when his show was first in New York, Daisey’s passion for humane treatment of Chinese workers was evident.

“Artists are people who are called to action,” he said. “If they’re not active then they’re probably asleep.”

Story Continues →

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.