Holy SHIT...TMZ has the Michael Jackson Pepsi "mishap" footage. That fucker was INJURED.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Posted Jul 15th 2009 1:36PM by TMZ Staff

Video from the 1984 Pepsi shoot where Michael Jackson's hair caught fire ... finally released.

The video, obtained by US Magazine, shows exactly what went down when a pyrotechnic mishap ended in Michael's scalp being scorched.

After the accident, Jackson became addicted to painkillers.

http://www.tmz.com/2009/07/15/michael-jackson-pepsi-explosion-video/

[Swede]

1. What was in his hair to make it burn like that?

It was a blue flame.

[NightWatcher]

4. something with alcohol like activator or jerry curl (sp)?

http://cdn2.myxer.com/tn/c/586532/big/?t=20080809170046

I loved Coming to America

[Amerigo Vespucci]

10. Jheri Curl

...and that's probably what he had in his hair, and if so, that explains everything.

A jheri curl was a two-part application that consisted of a softener (often called a "rearranging cream") to loosen natural afro-hair and a solution to set the curls. The rearranging cream used pungent chemicals, causing the naturally tight curls to loosen and hang. The loose hair was then set on perm rods and a chemical solution was then added to the hair to permanently curl it.

Besides the fact that it eventually went out of style, the jheri curl's decline in popularity probably occurred because of the damage it caused to the wearer's hair. Perming the hair was time and labor-intensive and expensive to upkeep. The harsh mix of chemicals required for the process caused the wearer's natural hair to become extremely brittle and dry.

To maintain the look of the jheri curl, users were required to apply activator and heavy moisturizers daily and to sleep with a plastic cap on their heads to keep the hairstyle from drying out. These products were relatively expensive (a typical bottle of activator was small, retailed anywhere from $3 to $6, and was quickly depleted.) The activator in particular had the undesirable side effect of being very greasy; this would often stain clothing and anything that came into contact with it.

Washing the hair cleansed it of the styling products but also exposed the damage done to the hair by the chemical process. Also, as the hair grew out, the wearer would be forced to return to the hair salon for a touch-up, further adding to the overall expense. The hairstyle went out of fashion by the early 1990s and was replaced in part with the high top fade haircut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jheri_curl

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

11. I had one of these in the 80's

Got it when I was seven. My aunt did it without my mom's permission and my mom raised hell. I remember my scalp was burning when the chemicals were in my hair. I cried.

[vixengrl]

9. That was frightening--since when was lighter fluid considered hair product?

I remember when it happened, I was imagining maybe a half-dollar-size scorched area--seeing the video makes me amazed he continued perfoming after that. That had to hurt--and burns are the worst kind of hurt. Makes you wonder how much of his head never grew back hair, and what kind of surgery he had to get rid of damaged tissue. Maybe a lot.

[WolverineDG]

18. Read the Autobiography of Malcom X

He describes the method used for straightening hair pre-jeri curl in graphic detail. :wow:

dg

[Mr. Ected]

2. Incredible mishap, entirely underplayed by the media at the time

2nd and 3rd degree burns to the King of Pop in his heyday. This may well have been the turning point.

[BuelahWitch]

5. That could well have been when he became addicted to painkillers

[Mr. Ected]

7. And skin grafts?

His behavior became extremely aberrant after that day. Not so much prior to it.

[BuelahWitch]

12. You mean all the plastic surgery he had after?

I wonder if much of it was related to the accident...

[csziggy]

15. He had an earlier accident in which he broke his nose

The operation to set it was not well done and he could not breathe properly through the nose despite at least one more operation to try to improve matters.

[Mojambo]

3. Cool. I've always wanted to see that. n/t

[Mojambo]

6. Wow. It takes like 10 seconds for him to even notice!

[Haole Girl]

8. I remember reading about it, but didn't know the vid would ever be released...

Hair spray and flames don't mix well. :-(

[merh]

13. Nightline is doing a full segment on this and has shown the video

ick - ick

[LibDemAlways]

14. I was there that night. The Shrine Auditorium is huge and

I was sitting about halfway back. I couldn't see much - just Michael being quickly surrounded by a bunch of guys who were apparently putting out the flames. An announcement came over the PA that the commercial shoot was over and everyone should exit immediately. The audience wasn't told what was going on. We didn't find out for sure until we got outside and heard all the buzz.

I had never seen the footage before. That was way worse than it appeared at the time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

16. People push around to get a better look rather than let the rescuers do their job

[BlueIris]

17. Damn. Looked painful.

And it was weird to see The Glove in action again.

[BarenakedLady]

19. Yikes.

:wow:

[Fran Kubelik]

20. Wow. Way worse than the blurry photo they released at the time made me think.

And it looks like it really was Miko Brando who got there first to help Michael.

[UTUSN]

21. How long till they release it as "TX Chainsaw Massacre" Dance of Death?

There are plenty of unscrupulous, money hungry characters in the MJ world who would be willing to digitalize it up, slo-mo it, re-play it in a loop, and of course set it to MJ (and Pepsi?) soundtrack.

[cherish44]

22. It makes sense that he got hooked on pain pills after that

I'm sure his hair probably never grew back after that.