This Is Us fans finally learned how Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) died thanks to one heartbreaking episode during the show’s second season, which saw the Pearson patriarch perish after a house fire started by a faulty slow cooker.
According to Ventimiglia, the Crock-Pot wasn’t the original choice for the kitchen appliance that started the blaze, with the actor sharing the tidbit on the latest installment of Entertainment Weekly‘s Chasing Emmy podcast.
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“I know it did change from [one] kitchen appliance to a slow cooker,” he revealed. “It was originally supposed to be something else known to have problems that got abandoned.”
Ventimiglia explained that he thinks the switch was made because slow cookers are often used to whip up food for Super Bowl parties, and the big game was a major part of that episode of the show.
After the episode aired, people were both angry at the appliance and scared that their own Crock-Pots might burst into flames, causing the company to release a statement on the matter.
“For nearly 50 years, with over 100 million Crock-Pots sold, we have never received any consumer complaints similar to the fictional events portrayed in last night’s episode,” the statement read. “In fact, the safety and design of our product renders this type of event nearly impossible.”
The statement continued, “Our hope is that the team at NBC’s This Is Us will help us spread factual information regarding our product’s safety. Just like many fans, we will be watching next week’s episode to see how Jack’s story progresses and, regardless of the outcome, we want consumers first and foremost to know they are safe when using their Crock-Pot.”
Ventimiglia recognized the backlash and noted that the show tried to quell fans’ less-than-positive reactions to the appliance.
“It was an amazing backlash. It became the responsibility of us to stand up for a group that unfortunately was getting all the fingers pointed at them,” he said. “But it’s also one of those things you think about, the influence of TV. Oh, my god, people are throwing out physical objects that make delicious food because they think one that was 19 years old was at fault [for his death]. We took sympathy over the backlash and tried to do something about it.”
Series creator Dan Fogelman also reminded fans that the Pearsons were dealing with a fictional Crock-Pot.
“I just literally just sent out a tweet — because I was reading this morning the reactions to the episode — reminding everybody that this was a fictional Crock-Pot with a faulty switch that was 20 years old,” he told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “So, I don’t think the entire Crock-Pot community should be blamed for this.”
Photo Credit: NBC
