Blame it on Pepsi…

The net is abuzz with the release of the original video footage of Michael Jackson’s fire accident in 1984. The accident that happened due to a faulty timing of a firework fired up MJ’s hair and left him with 2nd and 3rd degree burns that required him to go under the knife for a cosmetic correction, which then pushed him to painkillers and then from there to the drug trouble that apparently put him to the final slumber. The ad film was for Pepsi – a Billie Jean tuned song composed for the ad that plays in the background with montage of the crew and MJ drinking Pepsi pre-concert and then rocking at the concert. The shot requiring MJ to walk down a stair on the stage when the fireworks were to go off behind him, went in for a 6th take when the firework misfired. Pepsi apparently paid a 1million$ compensation to MJ which he confirmed in an Oprah Winfrey show later. The ad went on air and was a major hit. People close to MJ now report that his life changed after the accident. Why this was never shared earlier is a different question altogether, but fact remains that the next time I see a Pepsi ad on TV the image of MJ walking down that stair with his hair on fire and doing his signature spin on stage unaware of the fire on his head will surely haunt me. But then everything was a choice to everyone involved…like I would guess what if they’d chosen not to go in for that 6th take…so its a choice that I have to let it haunt or just plain vent out the frustration of the media calling it “Sensational Video of Michael Jackson on Fire”. Well…R.I.P MJ…and lets blame it on Pepsi!

Will pickle again!