4 things the 'Michael' Jackson movie got right and wrong about the king of pop
4. Accident on the set of a 1984 Pepsi commercial
In January 1984, Michael Jackson suffered second- and third-degree burns and severe hair loss while filming a Pepsi commercial before an audience of 3,000, according to USA Today.
During the sixth take, a pyrotechnic device exploded behind the then-25-year-old artist’s head, setting his hair on fire.
The 2026 biopic shows Jackson continuing the performance until the back of his head is engulfed in flames, which also happened in real life.
The recreation of this moment in “Michael” is “largely accurate,” as The New York Times reported.
In the film, Jackson requests that a seven-figure settlement with PepsiCo be donated to charity. The real-life settlement was $1.5 million, which was donated to the Brotman Medical Center to establish a burn center in his name.
One detail the newspaper noted was missing from the biopic was that Jackson began taking painkillers after the accident, which he later said he became dependent on.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
