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Topics: Celebrity, US News, Music, Entertainment
Rhianna Benson
In 1984, Michael Jackson was accidentally set ablaze while filming a television commercial before a live audience.
The gruesome incident would result in the 'King of Pop' needing several different skin grafts and filing a hefty lawsuit.
Footage of the heartbreaking episode has recently re-emerged in the public sphere as part of a TV special set to air on Fox, titled TMZ Presents Michael Jackson: 30 Fatal Seconds.
Weeks earlier, Jackson had been approached by the cola drink brand PepsiCo, with bosses offering him a multi-million-dollar deal to endorse Pepsi during a concert performance.
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The singer agreed, turning up to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles alongside his brothers from The Jacksons with plans to belt out a number of his biggest hits before a live audience.
Tragedy struck during the sixth take of the commercial, however, when a pyrotechnic malfunction triggered an explosion that caused the musician's gelled hair to catch fire.
It took Jackson several seconds to realise that he was alight, however, as he continued to perform.
The heart-stopping moment was recently depicted in the musical-drama biopic Michael, based on the star's life, with Jackson's real-life nephew Jaafar portraying him.
Eventually, crew members rushed over, attempting to extinguish the fire on his head.
The musician was subsequently transported to the hospital, where doctors determined he'd endured severe second-degree burns to his scalp.
Despite undergoing several surgical procedures - which also involved a third rhinoplasty - in a bid to conceal the damage, his head remained permanently scarred, and he battled hair loss for the rest of his life.
The Pepsi commercial aired as planned, but after the advice of his mother, Katherine, who argued that a lack of safety precautions resulted in her son's injury, Jackson filed a lawsuit against the popular drinks brand.
The two parties quickly settled out of court, however, after which the 'Billie Jean' star donated his $1.5m settlement funds to Brotman Medical Centre, which later established the now-closed Michael Jackson Burn Centre in his honour.
The years that followed saw Jackson sign a second endorsement deal with Pepsi worth $10m, which reportedly paid for promotional campaigns for his music across 20 countries, and funded his Bad World Tour.
Despite this, many individuals close to the chart-topper believe the incident was the catalyst for numerous longer-term health challenges.
The family's former attorney, Brian Panish, explains in Fox's upcoming documentary that the treatment sought by Jackson following the fire triggered his reliance on prescription medication.
"He underwent extensive plastic surgery, skin grafting, where they took skin from another part of his body to fix the areas that were damaged," Panish said.
"He had severe pain, he had debilitating pain, he had neuropathic pain, which is nerve pain in the scalp. The pain led to anxiety; it led to, really, most importantly, loss of sleep. The pain, the inability to sleep, causes the pain to be worse."
For reference, Jackson died in 2009, aged just 50, following acute propofol intoxication.
Panish added: "The patient shouldn’t be the one telling the doctor the drugs that they should have. The doctor should be in charge.
"And I think in this case, Michael became the one that was in charge."