DIRECTOR Morgan Spurlock, the mastermind behind the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me, has died at the age of 53.
Spurlock died Thursday in upstate New York of complications from cancer, his family announced Friday.
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Morgan Spurlock died on Thursday of complications from cancerCredit: Getty
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Morgan Spurlock became famous in 2004 with the release of his documentary Super Size MeCredit: Getty
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In Super Size Me, Spurlock ate McDonald’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 30 days Credit: Alamy
“It was a sad day, saying goodbye to my brother, Morgan,” said the director’s brother, Craig Spurlock.
“Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity.
“The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man.
“I’m so proud to have worked alongside him.”
A native of West Virginia, Morgan Spurlock became famous in 2004 with the release of his documentary Super Size Me, in which he starred.
The documentary followed Spurlock for 30 days, during which he ate McDonald’s every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The film documented a drastic change in Spurlock’s physical health and well-being.
To meet the physical activity level of the average American, Spurlock exercised less during the 30-day period.
By the end of the experiment, the then 32-year-old Spurlock claimed to have gained 25 pounds, noticed a spike in his cholesterol levels, and suffered from depression and liver dysfunction.
The film helped explore the impact of the fast food industry, including its meals based on poor nutrition.
The documentary also prompted McDonald’s to end its “sized” meal option.
The 2004 film earned Spurlock an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
In the years following his Oscar-nominated documentary, Spurlock released a sequel, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!.
In June 2013, he hosted and produced CNN’s Morgan Spurlock Inside Man.
However, the sequel of the film failed to reach the audience.
‘I AM PART OF THE PROBLEM’
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! was originally posted on YouTube Red in 2017, but was dropped after Spurlock admitted to a history of sexual abuse dating back to his college days.
In a December 2017 blog post titled, I’m Part of the Problem, Spurlock admitted to settling a sexual harassment lawsuit with his former office assistant, who he would refer to as “hot pants” and “sex pants.”
“Something that I thought was funny at the time, but then I realized I completely humiliated and belittled her to the point of non-existence,” Spurlock wrote.
The director said that after his assistant quit her job, he paid her an undisclosed amount to prevent her from going public with the allegations.
“I paid for peace. I paid for her silence and cooperation. I paid the most to remain who I am,” the post reads.
I believed he was feeling better. She believed she was raped.
Morgan Spurlock said about the woman who accused him of rape.
Spurlock also admitted to being unfaithful to his wife and ex-girlfriends.
He also revealed that in college, a woman who had a one-night stand with him while they were both drunk accused him of rape.
“We started making out, she pushed me away, we got into bed, talked and laughed some more, and then we started making out again,” he said.
“We took our clothes off. She said she didn’t want to have sex, so we laid down together, talked, kissed and laughed, and then we started having sex.”
Spurlock said the woman started crying in the middle of their sex, so he stopped and tried to comfort her.
“I believed she was feeling better. She believed she was raped,” he wrote.
Spurlock said no charges were ever filed and an investigation was never opened.
The director left behind two sons, Laken and Kallen, parents Phyllis and Ben Spurlock, brothers Craig and Barry, and ex-wives Alexandra Jamieson and Sara Berstein.
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In 2017, Spurlock admitted to sexually harassing his former office assistant, infidelity and being accused of rape Credit: Getty
The rise of Super Size Me
The documentary Super Size Me, released on May 7, 2004, changed the way the American public consumes fast food and opened up a debate about eating habits.
Super Size Me:
- While visiting his parents for Thanksgiving in 2002, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock saw a TV report about two girls suing McDonald’s, claiming it had misled them about the nutritional value of its meals.
- Influenced by the reported lawsuit, Spurlock decided to make a documentary in 2004 in which he ate only McDonald’s every day for 30 days.
- Spurlock ate McDonald’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- He forced himself to buy the company’s “super size” meals.
- McDonald’s introduced its “super size” meal option in 1987.
- The package included one McDonald’s burger, an extra-large order of fries and a 42-ounce soft drink.
- But, two months before the release of Super Size Me, McDonald’s eliminated its “super size” meal options.
- By the end of his experiment, then 32-year-old Morgan Spurlock claimed to have gained 25 pounds, noticed a spike in his cholesterol levels, and suffered from depression and liver dysfunction.
- McDonald’s claimed the film had nothing to do with the suspension of the “super size” meal.
- The film sparked a wide-ranging debate about public eating habits.
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!
- On September 8, 2017, Spurlock released the sequel to his decade-old documentary, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken.
- Spurlock sheds light on the fast-food chicken industry and the players behind it.
- The director opens his own chicken fast food restaurant, buys a chicken farm and young chickens and works with the team to create a brand and menu.
- Spurlock begins serving his product to residents of Columbus, Ohio.
- But Spurlock reveals to customers the truth about what they are consuming, how the chickens are raised and how farms are being cheated by the big poultry companies and the government bureaucracy that runs the industry.
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