Unreleased Footage of Michael Jackson Catching on Fire While Shooting 1984 Pepsi Commercial

Us Weekly has posted never-before-seen footage of Michael Jackson catching on fire while shooting the Pepsi commercial at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on January 27th, 1984, which quite possibly lead to his ultimate addiction to painkillers and obsession with plastic surgery.

On the sixth take, though, things went horribly wrong: The fireworks erupted too early, igniting Jackson’s head in flames. Jackson is at first unaware he’s on fire, and continues dancing.

Thanks Jason Laskodi!

Scott Beale
Scott Beale

Scott Beale founded Laughing Squid in 1995 in San Francisco and is currently based in New York City. When not running the blog, Scott can be found posting on Bluesky and sharing photos on Instagram.

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