To give credit where it’s due, I got the idea to investigate this after reading a post made by
Bec in his blog: You are not allowed to view links.
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Bec suggests the Pepsi incident might have been a hoax.)
I
don’t know if the Pepsi incident was a hoax or a simple accident or a conspiracy… I simply decided to do some investigating and present you with the findings. I will note some of the things I find interesting - though, of course, you may notice other things as well. You can draw your own conclusions and form your own opinions.
This will be a long post - I’m trying to make it worth your time.
Here’s what I will discuss:
PART 1: The tape
PART 2: The People magazine article, dated 13 Feb. 1984
PART 3: The BBC report from 27 Jan. 1984
PART 4: Michael’s looks at the 1984 Grammy Awards (held on 28 Feb.)
PART 5: The nurse who looked after Michael (Kathy McGrath)
PART 6; Burns info and treatment
PART 7: Michael’s own statements about the incident, made in his book “Moonwalk”
PART 1: The tapeHere’s the video from the shooting of the Pepsi commercial (said to have occurred on 27 Jan. 1984). The footage, which some believe to have been owned by Michael Jackson
only, surfaced, for the very first time, in
July 2009. (In all fairness, I think there’s a high chance that Pepsi would also have the footage. But would Pepsi want to release it?! I doubt it.)
[youtube:y1bogass]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqfJZGUNo5A[/youtube:y1bogass]
(Notice Michael was wearing the glittery glove at the time this happened.)
None of the publications which obtained and published the footage explained where it came from, and many or most of them stated that the accident triggered Michael’s (alleged) addiction to prescription drugs/painkillers.
See, for instance, here:
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By Carl Arlington
Pop Sensation Michael Jackson Survives a Fiery Brush with Serious Injury and Plans a Memoir with Jackie O
Michael Jackson had been shot. That was the first reaction of those nearby when he grabbed the back of his head and screamed. It was not a bullet wound that made him scream, though it was almost as bad: Jackson's head was on fire.
This live thriller unfolded last week before thousands of stunned fans at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium, where Michael, 25, and his musical brothers were filming a Pepsi commercial. It happened during one of the last scenes after four hectic days of shooting under the direction of video wizard Bob Giraldi. Giraldi had ordered another take of the flashy gala opening sequence. Amid brilliant illumination, Michael appeared at the top of a stairway and began his dazzling dancing descent to the floor, where the remaining Jacksons were lined up.
About halfway down, he felt something hot but figured it was just the klieg lights. Pyrotechnical special effects were flashing around him as he pirouetted to a fizzy version of Billie Jean. Suddenly there was a jolt of pain and he cried out. The first to respond was Miko Brando, 22, Marlon's son and a Jackson security aide. "I tore out, hugged him, tackled him and ran my hands through his hair," reports Brando, who burned his own fingers in the process. Within seconds the fire was extinguished and Michael was surrounded by a crowd of bodyguards, Jacksons and technicians. A quick-thinking fan grabbed a handful of ice, borrowed a T-shirt to make a cold compress and applied it to the wound. A few minutes later paramedics arrived and whisked Michael away to the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
The accident occurred just after 6 p.m. and early bulletins on the local news reported that Jackson had been "severely burned and was in serious condition." In fact, thanks to the emergency ice treatment, he was alert enough to tell the ambulance attendants that he wanted to keep his trademark jeweled glove on when he was wheeled into the hospital. The medical staff checked his vital signs and inspected the wound. The fire had scorched a palm-sized second-degree burn on his crown which surrounded a third-degree burn about the size of the hole in a 45-rpm record. An antiseptic cream (silver sulfadiazine) was applied, and Jackson was offered a painkiller, which he at first refused because of his disdain for narcotics. He later accepted an analgesic.
Word of the accident quickly reached Dr. Steven Hoefflin, Jackson's personal physician and plastic surgeon, who rushed to Cedars-Sinai. "It was quite a shock for Michael, and when I got there he was in a daze," reports Hoefflin. "After I examined him and told him he would be fine, he felt a lot better." Hoefflin, who once cosmetically reshaped Jackson's nose, decided to move his famous patient across town for treatment at the Burn Center of the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City. Accompanied by his parents, his brother Randy, two bodyguards and Hoefflin, Michael arrived at about 8:15 p.m. Once settled in room 3307, he became the patient of nurse Kathy McGrath, 29, who recalls that "he was still pretty shaken up and cold, so we put about five blankets on him."
Soon fans began congregating at the hospital and crowding into the emergency room waiting area. Switch-boards were flooded with calls and six staff volunteers handled the jammed phone lines. Security throughout the hospital was beefed up and a guard placed at every entrance to the burn unit. "Practically everybody who works in the hospital found some excuse to visit the floor," says Burn Center supervisor Pat Lavalas.
Michael, meanwhile, was making a fast recovery. Within a few hours he was asking for a videotape player. Because staffers did not have the key to the cabinet where the hospital video equipment was kept, they broke the padlock to get the machine and found an assortment of about 10 tapes for Jackson. He selected Close Encounters of the Third Kind, directed by his friend Steven Spielberg, and stayed awake watching it until 1 a.m. Then, after being given a sleeping pill, he had a restful night.
Michael awoke to a breakfast of fruit and juice and a tidal wave of messages from friends and fans. Diana Ross called. So did Liza Minnelli. Jackson's favorite among the hundreds of telegrams was one from a girl that said, "I heard you were hot, Michael, but this is ridiculous."
By the time Hoefflin arrived the next day, Jackson had watched American Bandstand on TV and, according to one nurse, "was bebopping in bed while the doctors examined him."
Instead of a typical hospital gown, he had adorned himself in a turquoise scrub outfit. The nurses also fashioned a head bandage that could be camouflaged with a macramé hat. "You're going to start a new wave here in 1984—the net look," nurse Jan Virgil told Michael. "He laughed and said he wanted to look French."
Jackson had been to the Burn Center previously, visiting patients there on two occasions. Only last month, in fact, Jackson called on Keith Perry, a 23-year-old mechanic who had suffered third-degree burns on 95 percent of his body. Perry had just undergone his 14th operation when Michael arrived and was placed in an adjoining room. Another severely burned patient with whom he had been in frequent contact was 41-year-old seamstress Bessie Henderson. "Bessie had gone through many operations and was very depressed," reports Hoefflin, who is also her plastic surgeon. "When Michael started calling she turned around and now she is doing a lot better."
Some of the patients were unaware they had a celebrity in their midst until Michael, wearing white socks and a single white sequined glove, made his rounds, visiting Keith, Bessie and the other six patients in the burn unit. One of the patients could not believe that he had actually been visited by Michael Jackson, so the singer returned to prove that it wasn't just a dream. Another patient wanted to know why Jackson wore the glove. "This way," he explained, "I am never offstage." With the consent of his doctor, Michael decided after less than a day to check out of the hospital and continue treatment as an outpatient.
Accompanied by his entourage and sporting a black fedora and hospital whites over street clothes, Michael was taken to a private car in a wheelchair. On his way, he stopped to have his picture taken with several visitors. "He's going to be bigger than Elvis Presley," said a woman in her 50s. "Bigger than who?" chirped one of the preteens who had flocked around.
Nearly all of the Burn Center staff got their souvenirs, as their famous patient posed for snapshots and signed cassettes, Thriller albums and 8 x 10 glossies. And though Jackson did not dance, Hoefflin knew that wouldn't last for long. "Telling Michael not to dance," said the surgeon, "is like telling him not to breathe."
Jackson plans to attend the mega-party that CBS and Epic Records are throwing in his honor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York this week, and he ought to be back in full gear by the time the Grammy awards (he's nominated for a dozen) roll around Feb. 28. "Michael is healthy and in good shape," says Hoefflin. "That will make for a speedy recovery." It's too early to judge if he will need any reconstructive surgery.
The exact cause of the accident at the Shrine Auditorium has yet to be determined. Eyewitnesses say it was a spark from one of the special lighting effects that ignited his hair. "Michael was exhausted when it happened," says Hoefflin. "It came at the end of a week when he was trying to film the commercial, make plans for a major national tour and finish an album with his brothers."
So far there has been no lawsuit, though the Jacksons and Pepsi executives have been carefully reviewing the film of the incident to determine if there was negligence. The sponsorship deal with Pepsi for two commercials is reportedly the most lucrative celebrity endorsement deal in history, guaranteeing the Jacksons at least $5 million. The family had to be nudged into the deal because, according to one insider, endorsing a product "isn't a decision every artist could be comfortable with immediately."
Although it will be a decidedly less lucrative undertaking, Michael also plans an autobiography. And for this, he will have the help of the most celebrated editor in publishing: Jackie Onassis. Mrs. O was first introduced to Mr. J several years ago at a Kennedy function in New York; both Caroline and John Jr. have been fans since the singer's Jackson Five days. Jackie and Michael met again last October in California—this time, says Jackson aide Steve Manning, "to really get to know each other."
Two weeks ago Jackie's firm, Doubleday, announced a $300,000-plus deal with Jackson—and named Jackie as his editor. Michael's memoirs, which will contain around 200 photos from his private collection, is due out in the spring of 1985. Jackson is also set to star in a new film of Peter Pan with Spielberg directing. The tour, meanwhile, is scheduled to begin this May with the kick-off possibly in the Jacksons' old hometown, Gary, Ind. The concert may be broadcast internationally.
Not that Jackson needs the extra exposure. The Guinness Book of World Records recently stopped the presses on its latest paperback edition to cite Michael's 23-million-copy Thriller as the biggest-selling solo LP of all time. He also continues to break sales records with his sixth single, Thriller's title cut, and his "Say Say Say" duet with Paul McCartney remains at the top of the charts. All of this is mere statistical evidence of Michael's extraordinary fan appeal, a mystique now enhanced by a near tragedy. "I would be willing to break my arm," said 14-year-old Tyrone Davis, one of the faithful who kept vigil outside the hospital, "just to be in the emergency room with Michael." Not to be outdone, Davis' sidekick, John Thomas, 13, boasted, "That's nothing. I would break my neck."
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Here is the main data I gleaned from the “People” article:
#1. The article, dated 13 February 1984, says that the incident occurred “last week”. If true, the incident can’t have occurred on 27 January, the date which is widely reported. What’s the truth?!
#2. Reportedly, “thousands of fans” were present at the shooting. I haven’t heard too many people to come out and say “I was there!” I would expect some eyewitnesses (more than 1 or 2) to speak about this…
#3, Miko Brando was “the first to respond” and burned his own fingers in the process.
#4. There are contradictory statements about Michael’s “disdain for narcotics”. MJ refused a painkiller, but later accepted an analgesic… And took a sleeping pill to go to bed!
#5. Michael suffered second-degree and third-degree burns, but made a “fast recovery” and checked out of the hospital after less than a day (and was supposedly going to continue treatment as an outpatient).
#6. Upon leaving the hospital, MJ was taken to his car in a wheelchair. Why the need for the wheelchair, when Michael was in great health (according to Dr. Hoefflin) and “bebopping in bed while the doctors examined him"?
This reminds me of the
only other time I saw MJ in a wheelchair, namely in that infamous photo from 2008-09. I saw Michael with a broken foot/leg twice (at the 2001 Oxford lecture and when he performed “Remember The Time” in a chair), and neither of those times did I see him in a wheelchair… He’s not a wuss!
So: Why that wheelchair in 1984?
#7. Michael was transferred by Dr. Hoefflin from Cedars-Sinai to the Burns Unit at Brotman Medical Center in Culver City (which does exist - I checked). Michael is said to have visited this Burns Unit twice prior to his Pepsi incident - the last time being just 1 month earlier. Upon arriving, he was placed in a room adjoining one of the patients he had visited there (precisely the guy he saw the previous month).
Interesting timing, no?
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PART 3: The BBC report from 27 Jan. 1984 [/u]
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Michael Jackson has received hospital treatment for serious burns to his head after his hair caught light during a freak filming accident.
The 25-year-old entertainer was singing his hit "Billie Jean" for a Pepsi Cola commercial in Los Angeles when the special effects went wrong.
Three thousand fans saw a firework display erupt behind the superstar, showering him in sparks and setting light to his hair.
Some studio audience members said he was so calm, they thought the incident was part of the act.
The singer is reported to have covered his burning hair with his jacket as his brothers and stage hands rushed to help.
One member of the audience, Virginia Watson, witnessed the accident.
"He was wonderful. He reassured people even as he was being taken away on a stretcher", she said.
Michael Jackson was taken to hospital where he was treated for second degree burns.
Plastic surgeon Steven Hoeffin said Jackson, who was voted America's entertainer of the year, could need surgery to his head.
"He is in discomfort", said the doctor. "It will take a few weeks to determine the hair loss."
The superstar is earning a reputed £7m for the series of Pepsi Cola adverts which also feature his four famous brothers. It is part of a huge sponsorship deal the singer agreed last year.
The multimillionaire's album "Thriller" has just entered the Guinness book of records as the best selling LP of all time.
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PART 4: Michael’s looks at the 1984 Grammy Awards (held on 28 Feb.) [/u]
This is (allegedly) 1 month after the fire, and MJ looked totally fine:
[youtube:y1bogass]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF6l5DFfSO8[/youtube:y1bogass]
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PART 5: The nurse who looked after Michael (Kathy McGrath) [/u]
We are told nurse Kathy McGrath (29 at the time) took care of MJ… This lady, apparently from Connecticut, surfaced in 2009 (surprise!) and gave a short interview:
The interview is here, and shows a photo of Michael on the hospital bed:
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Updated: Thursday, 16 Jul 2009, 11:31 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 16 Jul 2009, 11:26 PM EDT
Story by: Jamie Muro
Naugatuck (WTNH) - Michael Jackson made headlines 25-years-ago when he was burned filming a commercial. Among those who treated him that day was a woman from Connecticut.
Little did she know that one of the most famous people on the planet would end up being a patient.
Perhaps it's hard to believe, but the once-thriving milltown of Naugatuck, Connecticut, a borough in New Haven County, quietly houses a Michael Jackson story.
"It was exciting. It was my little claim to fame. That's how I always put it," said Kathy McGrath, a former nurse to Michael Jackson. "My claim to fame is I took care of Michael Jackson when he burned his head."
Jackson "was not alone" that fateful day in 1984 when pyrotechnics caught his hair on fire while filming a "Pepsi" commercial.
"The doctor, Steven Hoefflin, called and said they were admitting Michael Jackson," said McGrath.
Three-thousand miles away from her hometown, at Brotman Medical Center's Burn Unit, by his bedside McGrath stood.
"Oh my God, it was like, unbelievable," she said. "Then it was like a big dash to get the room ready. We wanted him right next to the nursing station."
With the release of the "US Magazine" video this week of Jackson's burn-accident, McGrath is reliving an unforgettable memory.
"He was scared, he was nervous," she said.
She even found her name in national ink in '84, telling a reporter from "People Magazine" she put five blankets on Jackson to keep him warm. And while much of the discussion, this week, centers on Jackson's burn and his connection to painkillers, McGrath said it's too hard to know.
What stands out, in her mind, is the fact Jackson had visited the burn unit, before, visiting patients and sharing stories.
"He's very nice; nice enough to do that, nice enough to sign the picture for us," said McGrath of her memories of Jackson.
A faded Polaroid picture, with Jackson's scribbled signature on the back, is now a major conversation piece in McGrath's Naugatuck home.
McGrath said Jackson was only there one day. He was given a tetanus shot, which she was supposed to do but Jackson asked the doctor to do it; she also said his own food was catered in to the hospital.
She has since left the medical profession, married and is working as a realtor in Naugatuck.
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Here’s a 2010 article about Kathy McGrath:
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Nurse of Michael Jackson Shares Memories
“Maggie’s Corner”
A 911 Reaches Kathy McGrath In More Ways Than One.
By: Maggie Griffin
Meeting with Kathy McGrath, former Nurse of Michael Jackson when he was treated for burn injuries, I will admit she is a very extraordinary woman. Going back 25 years of Kathy’s career is a career that means more to her then anyone can imagine. Her career in nursing touched the lives of hundreds of people, including Michael Jackson, her patient in 1984.
Kathy McGrath, born August 12, 1954 in Waterbury Connecticut, found her calling to enter the medical profession in her later teen years. She wanted to be a Medical Technologist. Following high school, Kathy attended St. Mary’s School of Nursing. A 1975 Graduate, she, along with 3 other peers from St. Mary’s School of Nursing, left for California. There is where Kathy was a Nurse at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, Intensive Care Unit. This Center is known to be the hospital to the stars.
Kathy was also a Floating Intensive Care Nurse where she would be called to duty to other medical facilities, including the Intensive Care Unit at Brothrotmen Medical Center, the Center where Entertainer Michael Jackson was admitted when he suffered burn injuries to his head during the making the a Pepsi Commercial in 1984. Kathy, being a fan of Michael Jackson, did not expect that Michael Jackson was going to be one of her patients. Jackson was placed in a private room, room number 3307, where he became the patient of Kathy McGrath. As Kathy McGrath, 29 at the time, quoted in The February, 1984 issue of People’s Magazine about Michael Jackson when he suffered burn injuries to his head: “He was still pretty shaken up and cold, so we put about five blankets on him.”
During my conversation with Kathy McGrath, she relived her experience as Michael Jackson’s nurse. “He was at the height of his career. Being his nurse was an awesome and honorable experience as his music touched me all my life”, said McGrath.
Kathy also emphasized one important fact; “As awesome and honorable it was that Michael Jackson was my patient, regardless of him being a celebrity, I automatically went into Nurse Mode. It was important that he had a private room to allow me to care for him and his burn injuries appropriately without interruptions. It is a challenge when giving medical care to burn victims as burn victims can also have other complications related to burn injuries. My job was to make sure all my patients received immediate, top and best medical care, including Michael.”
Another patient of McGrath, during the same time Jackson was her patient, is a man by the name of Keith Perry who suffered 90% of burns on his body. “Dr. Steven Hoefflin was Michael’s Plastic Surgeon at the time. Michael visited Keith Perry a couple of times during his stay in the medical facility, he cared about him and many others who were being treated for burns”, said McGrath.
Kathy McGrath loved her nursing career in an intensive care unit. She found it not only fascinating, but a career that touched her heart in more ways than one, especially to burn victims. She cared about all of them and treated well over 100 burn patients with immediate medical care. She also specialized in Endoscopy as well. Her career in the medical profession, and how serious she took the medical profession, made a difference for many. Kathy sets the example why all patients, no matter who they are, where they come from or what they do for a living, deserve immediate medical care in emergency situations. She made sure she gave immediate medical care to her patients because that is what was most important to her during her nursing career.
Although Kathy is still a licensed Nurse, she embarked on helping people in another area of expertise, Real Estate. Kathy is a REALTOR for Hometown Realtors, LLC in Naugatuck, owned by her Husband Ken Teach. As a seasoned Real Estate Professional, she takes this same quality of care at heart and applies it to bringing immediate service and attention to her real estate clients, clients who she is honored to be a part of when buying or selling real estate. McGrath quotes “My clients are important to me. Buying and selling real estate is one of the most important decisions in one’s life time. There is no hesitation when it comes to providing immediate real estate service to my clients”.
When I asked Kathy what all her recognitions were in both her nursing and real estate career, Kathy stated she does not believe in personal recognition. “Recognition is not what it is about. What is important to me is the importance of immediate attention and care I provided to my patients during my Nursing Career. I continue to provide immediate attention and care to my clients when it comes to their real estate needs today in my Real Estate Career”, said McGrath.
One’s Life and Life Time – Kathy is a woman of many ventures that touches the hearts of several people. Helping People is what it’s all about. Kathy puts the needs of others before her own. When I sat with Kathy, talking to her about her career in both nursing and real estate, I felt more than honored. Looking at photos as she was sharing with me the past 25 years of her life, I found her devotion to others amazing. It was remarkable for me to talk to Kathy about the past 25 years of her life in Nursing and now in Real Estate.
Kathy also shared with me her memorabilia’s such as the People’s Magazine dated back February of 1984 where she was mentioned being Michael Jackson’s Nurse. She also shared pictures, such as one with her and other staff members with Michael Jackson in the medical facility where Jackson was admitted prior to receiving out-patient care for his burn injuries.
Turning one of the photos over is where I read in Michael Jackson’s hand writing to Kathy McGrath:
“Thank You, I Love You – Michael Jackson”
There is a message Kathy McGrath wants to give to the Jackson family. That message is: “My heart and prayers goes out to the entire Jackson Family for the loss of Michael. No matter what, they are a family and family comes first.”
Kathy McGrath, Nurse of burn victims that included the legendary entertainer Michael Jackson, is also Kathy McGrath, REALTOR for Hometown Realtors, LLC in Naugatuck Connecticut. She is also The State President of The Woman’s Council of REALTORs, A Designated Accredited Buyers Specialist (ABR), e-Pro, A Graduate of the Real Estate Institute (GRI), Designated in Performance Management Network (PMI) and A Seller’s Representative Specialist (SRS).
Kathy McGrath “Never Can Say Good Bye” as Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 sang in a song. Kathy is and always will be a woman who will always climb levels to help others. I found her accomplishments to be amazing, to conclude behind those accomplishments is her care to provide immediate attention to help others. I am certain she will have more accomplishments to come. She is a prime example of what dedication is for millions. I am honored and blessed to be a friend of Kathy McGrath.
Michael Jackson – Thank you for giving us your gift of music, sharing your heart and caring for people. We love you too. You will always be there.
PART 6; Burns info and treatment[/u]
Info on second-degree burns: You are not allowed to view links.
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Login Second-degree burns that cover less than 15% of an adult's body or less than 10% of a child's body are considered minor. (Michael’s burn would thus have been “minor”.)
Minor burns are treated at home, while moderate and critical burns require hospital treatment.
Using ice or ice water on the affected area is not a good idea, because it further damages the tissue. MJ’s hospital treatment seems to be consistent with the typical treatment: applying antiseptic and using light bandaging. However, some say that silver sulfadiazine, which MJ was administered, can prolong healing time. I’m not sure about the (alleged) ice compress applied by the “fan”… Because the ice wasn’t applied directly onto the skin, it may have been OK.
Analgesia (pain relief) is usually given.
Second-degree burns can heal with no or little permanent damage, and do not require skin grafts. However, they are the most painful of all burns, and can easily become complicated by infections.
Second-degree burns cause the victim’s breathing rate and pulse to increase (due to the pain).
A second-degree burn can take anywhere from 10 days to 3 weeks to heal, barring complications or other trauma. (Thus it’s not surprising that Michael looked OK one month after the fire.)
Survival and outcome of severe burn injuries is remarkably improved if the patient is treated in a specialized burn center/unit rather than a hospital.
There’s a second type of second-degree burns: DEEP - which don’t heal as well. (I don’t think MJ had the deep type, but the superficial type. He probably wouldn’t have been discharged after 1 day had he suffered from a deep, palm-sized second-degree burn.)
Info on third-degree burns: You are not allowed to view links.
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Generally the sweat glands, hair follicles, and nerve endings are destroyed.
Third-degree burns are not painful, but they are always surrounded by first- or second-degree burns, which are painful. (So the description of MJ's wound makes sense.)
NOTE:
Hyperbaric oxygenation has not been shown to be a useful adjunct to traditional treatments.
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Here’s what MJ said in “Moonwalk”:
“I had planned to spend most of 1984 working on some movie ideas I had, but those plans got sidetracked. First, in January, I was burned on the set of a Pepsi commercial I was shooting with my brothers. The reason for the fire was stupidity, pure and simple. We were shooting at night and I was supposed to come down a staircase with magnesium flash bombs going off on either side of me and just behind me. It seemed so simple. I was to walk down the stairs and these bombs would blow up behind me. We did several takes that were wonderfully timed. The lightning effects from the bombs were great. Only later did I find out that these bombs were only two feet away from either side of my head, which was a total disregard of the safety regulations. I was supposed to stand in the middle of a magnesium explosion, two feet on either side.
Then Bob Giraldi, the director, came to me and said, “Michael, you’re going down too early. We want to see you up there, up on the stairs. When the lights come on, we want to reveal that you’re there, so wait.”
So I waited, the bombs went off on either side of my head, and the sparks set my hair on fire. I was dancing down this ramp and turning around, spinning, not knowing I was on fire. Suddenly I felt my hands reflexively going to my head in an attempt to smother the flames. I fell down and just tried to shake the flames out. Jermaine turned around and saw me on the ground, just after the explosions had gone off, and he thought I had been shot by someone in the crowd - because we were shooting in front of a big audience. That’s what it looked like to him.
Miko Brando, who works for me, was the first person to reach me. After that, it was chaos. It was crazy. No film could properly capture the drama of what went on that night. The crowd was screaming. Someone shouted, “Get some ice!” There were frantic running sounds. People were yelling, “Oh no!” The emergency truck came up and before they put me in I saw the Pepsi executives huddled together in a corner, looking terrified. I remember the medical people putting me on a cot and the guys from Pepsi were so scared they couldn’t even bring themselves to check on me.
Meanwhile, I was kind of detached, despite the terrible pain. I was watching all the drama unfold. Later they told me I was in shock, but I remember enjoying the ride to the hospital because I never thought I’d ride in an ambulance with the sirens wailing. It was one of those things I had always wanted to do when I was growing up. When we got there, they told me there were news crews outside, so I asked for my glove. There’s a famous shot of me waving from the stretcher with my glove on.
Later one of the doctors told me that it was a miracle I was alive. One of the firemen had mentioned that in most cases your clothes catch on fire, in which case your whole face can be disfigured or you can die. That’s it. I had third-degree burns on the back of my head that almost went through to my skull, so I had a lot of problems with it, but I was very lucky.
What we now know is that the incident created a lot of publicity for the commercial. They sold more Pepsi than ever before. And they came back to me later and offered me the biggest commercial endorsement fee in history. It was so unprecedented that it went into The Guinness Book of World Records. Pepsi and I worked together on another commercial, called <The Kid>, and I gave them problems by limiting the shots of me because I felt the shots they were asking for didn’t work well. Later, when the commercial was a success, they told me I had been right.
I still remember how scared those Pepsi executives looked the night of the fire. They thought that my getting burned would leave a bad taste in the mouth of every kid in America who drank Pepsi. They knew I could have sued them and I could have, but I was real nice about it. Real nice. They gave me $1,500,000 which I immediately donated to the Michael Jackson Burn Center. I wanted to do something because I was so moved by the other burn patients I met while I was in the hospital.”
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