Michael Jackson suffered severe scalp burns on January 27, 1984, when his hair caught fire while he was filming a Pepsi commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The shoot featured a staged musical performance complete with pyrotechnics, but sparks ignited his hair as he descended a staircase. The accident left the pop star with second-degree burns to his scalp and a small area of third-degree burns, requiring medical treatment and a lengthy recovery. Jackson was taken to Brotman Memorial Hospital in Culver City, California, where he received treatment in the burn unit. He later donated the reported $1.5 million settlement from the incident to support burn care, research and reconstructive surgery for other patients, turning a painful episode in his life into an effort to help people facing similar injuries.
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