Michael Jackson’s Pepsi Fire ‘Changed His Life’

Michael Jackson's Pepsi Fire 'Changed His Life'

What sent Michael Jackson down the of drug abuse and eventual destruction – David Gest says that it was his scalp getting burnt while filming the Pepsi commercial that was triggering incident.

Michael Jackson‘s hair was accidentally set on fire as he was filming a commercial for the soft drink Pepsi in 1984, and his pal believes the subsequent treatment he received following the accident sent the star into the downward spiral that eventually cost him his life.

David Gest is an American concert promoter and media personality, probably best known for his turbulent marriage to Liza Minnelli.

Speaking on ‘BBC Breakfast,’ David said: “When he started his solo career and he left Motown, when he did ‘Off The Wall’, ‘Bad’ and ‘Thriller’, he was in complete control of everything he did. He was in charge.”

“It was that accident, when you get a head concussion it changes your life because you get addicted to drugs, to get rid of all the pain, and that started with filming that commercial.”

As a result of the accident, Michael was rushed to hospital and treated for second degree burns. He likely had plastic surgery soon after to hide his hair loss and altered his appearance many times over the rest of his life, with David claiming he had to undergo ‘ballooning’ procedures, a method of alopecia reduction for surgical hair restoration, up until he died.

He added: “He never got over that. He had ballooning, ballooning is when you expand the scalp, until the day he died he was being ballooned.”

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Image credit to Fame Pictures