Morgan Spurlock, the Oscar-nominated director who starred in the documentary Super Size Me, has died, his family announced Friday. He was 53.
The filmmaker’s family said in a statement that he “passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends” on Thursday, according to The Guardian. The statement said his death was caused by complications related to cancer.
Spurlock had been receiving chemotherapy earlier this year, Deadline reports. “It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” his brother and documentary collaborator, 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.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Super Size Me, the 2004 film which brought Spurlock to international attention and acclaim, tracked his experience of eating nothing but McDonald’s food for 30 days. He claimed to have rapidly gained weight over the course of the project and also suffered liver dysfunction, with the fast food chain ultimately discontinuing its “Super Size” option in the weeks after the documentary’s release. It’s not clear if he suffered any long-term health consequences as a result of the experiment.
“His films inspired critical thinking and encouraged viewers to question the status quo,” the family statement read. “Over thirteen years, through his production company Warrior Poets, Spurlock found additional success producing and directing nearly 70 documentary films and television series.”
He created headlines in more recent years at the height of the #MeToo movement with a social media post in which he described himself as being “part of the problem.” Spurlock described being accused of rape in college after a one-night stand, and said he’d “settled a sexual harassment allegation” from a former assistant.
He stepped down from Warrior Poets shortly after.
In a 2019 interview with Business Insider, Spurlock said his “whole company was decimated” within eight days of his post. He also said at the time of the interview that he’d spent time in rehab for alcohol abuse and had gotten sober.
That year also saw the theatrical release of Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, Spurlock’s final film, which he’d originally intended for a wide distribution in 2017. The documentary tracks Spurlock’s efforts to open his own fast-food restaurant and explores claims about whether fast food has gotten healthier.
Spurlock is survived by his sons, Laken and Kallen, as well as his parents, Phyllis and Ben, and two brothers, Craig and Barry. He is also survived by two ex-wives, Alexandra Jamieson and Sara Bernstein, who are the mothers of his children, according to the Associated Press.
