Source: NBC
The Tuesday, January 23 episode of This Is Us brought fans closer than ever to the tragic death of Jack Pearson, and if you haven’t watched the episode yet, there are huge spoilers ahead in this post!
The episode “That’ll Be the Day” detailed Jack’s last day with his family, although he didn’t know it, which also happened to be Super Bowl Sunday, and at the very end after Jack cleans up the kitchen, the fire starts. How that fire started, however, has caused a serious reaction from fans prompting the series creator Dan Fogelman to speak out.
In the episode, the tragic fire that burns down the Pearson home and presumably kills Jack, all started because of a faulty Crock-Pot switch. The episode explained that the slow cooker had been given to Jack and Rebecca about 17 years before by a friendly neighbor who assured them that the switch needed to be fiddled with but worked just fine, and it seemed it did just that until that fateful day.
After many This Is Us fans took to their social media to state they no longer trusted their Crock-Pot and were even throwing theirs out, Fogelman had to take to his Twitter to remind everyone that it wasn’t real. “Taking a moment to remind everyone that it was a 20-year-old fictional crockpot with an already funky switch? Let’s not lump all those lovely hardworking crockpots together. #ThisIsUs.”
Along with Fogelman, Crock-Pot even released their own statement on their Facebook page because of the extreme reaction from This Us Fans. Their statement reads:
“Crock-Pot understands the concerns brought up by last night’s episode of This Is Us, and we too are heartbroken by the latest development in Jack’s storyline. However, it is important that our consumers understand and have confidence that all Crock-Pot slow cookers exceed all internal testing protocols and all applicable industry safety standards and regulations as verified by independent third-party testing labs. 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. In fact, the safety and design of our product renders this type of event nearly impossible.
“In addition, and most relevant to the concerns consumers are having after watching the recent This Is Us episode, our Crock-Pot slow cookers are low current, low wattage (typically no more than 200 or 300 watts) appliances with self-regulating, heating elements. The product is designed to cook foods over a longer period of time at low temperatures and the switches connect to only 1 side of the power line voltage, so there is never a high voltage applied directly across our switches. The switches within our slow cookers are subjected to additional internal testing, which includes a Rotary Knob Endurance test, Rotary Knob Force Test and Flame Burning Test and constructed of self-extinguishing, flame resistant material.
“Our hope is that the team at NBC’s This Is Us will help us spread factual information regarding our product’s safety. While we know their primary mission is to entertain — something they have continued to excel in — we also feel they have a responsibility to inform. 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.”
Don’t forget the big episode we have all been waiting for airs Sunday, February 4 after the Super Bowl!
Telisa Carter
Telisa enjoys learning and writing about all things entertainment in the world of Hollywood. When she isn't catching up on her favorite TV shows, she likes to read, and obsess over all things football.
