FILMMAKER Morgan Spurlock, the mastermind behind the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me, has died at age 53.
Spurlock died in Upstate New York on Thursday from complications of cancer, his family announced on Friday.
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"It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother, Morgan," the filmmaker's brother, Craig Spurlock, said.
"Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity.
"The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man.
"I am so proud to have worked together with him."
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A West Virginia native, Morgan Spurlock rose to prominence in 2004 with the release of his documentary Super Size Me, which he starred in.
The documentary followed Spurlock for 30 days, during which he ate McDonald's every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The film documented the drastic change in Spurlock's physical health and well-being.
To match the average American's physical activity, Spurlock exercised less during the 30-day period.
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By the end of the experiment, the then-32-year-old Spurlock claimed he had gained 25 pounds, saw a spike in his cholesterol level, and suffered from depression and liver dysfunction.
The film helped explore the influence of the fast-food industry, including its poor nutrition-based meals.
The documentary also led McDonald's to discontinue its "super-size" meal option.
The 2004 film earned Spurlock an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
In the years after his Oscar-nominated documentary, Spurlock released the sequel, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!.
In June 2013, he hosted and produced the CNN show Morgan Spurlock Inside Man.
However, the film's sequel failed to reach an audience.
'I AM PART OF THE PROBLEM'
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! was initially released on YouTube Red in 2017 but was dropped after Spurlock admitted to a history of sexual misconduct that stretched back to his college days.
In a December 2017 blog post titled, I Am Part of the Problem, Spurlock admitted that he settled a sexual harassment claim with his former office assistant, whom he would refer to as "hot pants" and "sex pants."
"Something I thought was funny at the time, but then realized I had completely demeaned and belittled her to a place of non-existence," Spurlock wrote.
The filmmaker said after his assistant quit, he paid her an undisclosed amount to keep her from going public about the claims.
"I paid for peace of mind. I paid for her silence and cooperation. Most of all, I paid so I could remain who I was," the post read.
I believed she was feeling better. She believed she was raped.
Morgan Spurlock said of a woman who accused him of rape.
Spurlock also admitted to being unfaithful to his wife and past girlfriends.
He also revealed that in college a woman who entered a one-night sexual relationship with him when they were both intoxicated accused him of rape.
"We began fooling around, she pushed me off, then we laid in the bed and talked and laughed some more, and then began fooling around again," he said.
"We took off our clothes. She said she didn't want to have sex, so we laid together, and talked, and kissed, and laughed, and then we started having sex."
Spurlock said the woman began to cry in the middle of their having sex, so he stopped and attempted to comfort her.
"I believed she was feeling better. She believed she was raped," he wrote.
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Spurlock said no charges were ever filed and an investigation was never opened.
The filmmaker is survived by his two sons, Laken and Kallen, his parents Phyllis and Ben Spurlock, brothers Craig and Barry, and ex-wives, Alexandra Jamieson and Sara Berstein.
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The rise of Super Size Me
Released on May 7, 2004, the documentary Super Size Me changed the way the American public consumed fast-food and opened a debate about eating habits.
Super Size Me:
- During a Thanksgiving visit to his parents in 2002, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock saw a TV news report about two girls who sued McDonald's, claiming it had misled them about the nutritional value of its meals.
- Influenced by the reported lawsuit, in 2004, Spurlock decided to film a documentary where he ate nothing but McDonald's every day for 30 days.
- Spurlock ate McDonald's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- He pressured himself to purchase the company's "super size" meal options.
- McDonald's introduced its "super size" meal option in 1987.
- The bundle included one McDonald's class burger, an extra-large order of French 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, the then-32-year-old Morgan Spurlock claimed he had gained 25 pounds, saw a spike in his cholesterol level, and suffered from depression and liver dysfunction.
- McDonald's claimed the film had nothing to do with its halt of "super size" meals.
- The film prompted widespread debate about public eating habits.
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!
- Spurlock released a sequel to his decade-old documentary, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken, on September 8, 2017.
- Spurlock shines a light on the fast-food chicken industry and the players behind it.
- The filmmaker opens his own fast-food chicken restaurant, buys a chicken farm and baby chicks, and works with a 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're consuming, how the chickens are raised, and how the farms are being cheated by large poultry companies and the government bureaucracy running the industry.
