Us Weekly has posted the video of one of the defining moments in Michael Jackson’s personal and professional history.
The year was 1984 and the King of Pop was at the top of his game. The “Thriller” album was topping the charts, he’d just introduced the world to the moonwalk and Pepsi signed him to do a commercial.
In front of a crowd of thousands in Los Angeles, Jackson performed a simulated show that was filmed for the commercial. On the sixth take, the pyrotechnics went off too early and Jackson’s hair caught on fire. He suffered second and third degree burns to his body and scalp.
The story became a huge deal at the time (I was four and even I remember hearing about it). It made the commercial in question an instant classic and probably sold more Pepsi than they’d care to reveal.
What we didn’t know at the time, and is the reason why Us Weekly is trotting out the video this week as opposed to weeks ago after Jackson’s death, is that they’re reporting this was the moment that Jackson began to take pain medications that would haunt him the rest of his days.
It made the man even more a myth, but at what cost?
Check out the video – which is not for the faint of heart – by clicking HERE.
25 years of pain medications? Yeah, I can understand how he got a little loopy at the end of his days. Very sad, though.