Posted Jul 18th 2009 1:00AM by TMZ Staff
The director of the 1984 Pepsi commercial in which Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire is slamming the people who claim it was all his fault.
Director Bob Giraldi claims he had no idea putting Michael directly underneath the sparks was dangerous. Giraldi says fire officials like Captain Don Donester -- who blamed Bob for the incident on Thursday -- should have warned him.
Giraldi said there were never supposed to be sparks in the first place, claiming the fireworks simply malfunctioned.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: bob giraldi, BobGiraldi, captain don donester, CaptainDonDonester, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, pepsi, Pepsi commercial, PepsiCommercial
Posted Jul 16th 2009 6:40PM by TMZ Staff
A captain with the L.A. City Fire Department tells us the burns Michael Jackson suffered during the filming of the 1984 Pepsi commercial were caused by a director who wanted to get a more dramatic shot.
Captain Don Donester was at the filming, working as a fire safety inspector. Donester says after doing take after take, he overheard the director tell Jackson, "Stand there longer [under the sparks]. You'll look more majestic." According to Donester, by making Jackson stay under the sparks for a longer period of time, it would look as if the singer was emerging from the smoke and sparks.
We just spoke with the director, Bob Giraldi, who said "That's not true. Whatever." Then he hung up.
In Michael's autobiography, the singer backs up Donester's story, writing Giraldi "came up to me and said, 'Michael, you're going down too early. We want to see you up there, up on the stairs. When the lights come on, we want to reveal that you're there, so wait.'"
Donester says the director's decision went against the rules set by the senior fire safety inspector. Don also told us he was one of the people who helped put out the fire on Michael's head.
Various people connected with Jackson say the serious burns the singer suffered triggered his prescription drug addiction, that consumed him for the rest of his life.
Filed under: Michael Jackson
Tags: accident, audio, burns, fire department, FireDepartment, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, pepsi commercial, PepsiCommercial, video
