Michael Jackson, the Pepsi accident, and drug addiction

Now we know how Michael Jackson became a drug addict, said Us Magazine. The King of Pop was "never the same" after his Pepsi commercial accident, during which his head burst into flames (watch the video). "To relieve the second- and third-degree burns on his scalp and body (and later to help him tolerate multiple surgeries on the scorched spot on his head), Jackson was prescribed several medications—which kicked off his addiction to painkillers and obsession with plastic surgery."

"With all the surgeries Michael had," said Michael Velardo in Examiner.com, "is it any wonder" that "he became addicted" to drugs? There was also the weight of his other problems—the "sex scandals," the "obsession with his appearance," his "total loss of privacy," and a borderline “abusive” father, among other things. "What is difficult to understand is why more people didn't take a proactive approach in convincing Michael that he needed help."

Michael Jackson's "tragedy was almost entirely self-made," said Bill Wyman in The Wall Street Journal. He had "an enormous fortune, a large family, and an extraordinary network of famous friends to help him cope" with his problems. But "instead of turning to them, he chose to run away from his art, become a drug addict, ruin his personal reputation," and "dismantle a towering fortune." What a "terrible waste."

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