Morgan Spurlock, director of "Super Size Me," dies at 53

Morgan Spurlock, the documentary filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated 2004 film “Super Size Me,” died Thursday due to complications of cancer. He was 53.

In “Super Size Me,” Spurlock spent 30 days only eating McDonald’s meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner; as the title suggests, he also had to “super-size” his meal if the cashier offered. At the end of the month-long experiment, Spurlock claimed he gained 25 pounds and was experiencing liver dysfunction. While the film was a box office success —it grossed $22 million at the global box office — its accuracy has been questioned in the two decades since its release.

In 2009, health writer and comedian Tom Naughton released the reply documentary “Fat Head,” in which he sought to refute Spurlock’s claims. Naughton made the point that several other filmmakers had gone on “McDiets” and lost weight and that those filmmakers had publicly shared or posted their daily food logs — something Spurlock refused to do.

In 2017, Spurlock admitted as part of a social media post about the #MeToo movement that he was “part of the problem” and had a history of sexual misconduct, ranging from a rape allegation in college to settling a harassment claim from a former assistant at his production company, Warrior Poets. As part of the post, Spurlock noted that he hadn’t “been sober for more than a week in 30 years,” which some critics have argued may actually account for many of Spurlock’s results in “Super Size Me,” which researchers have been unable to replicate.

Shortly after making that post, Spurlock stepped away from “Warrior Poets.” His last documentary, “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken,” looked at the marketing tactics the fast-food industry used to appear more nutritious.

Spurlock’s family confirmed his death to Variety. 

“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” Craig Spurlock, who worked with his brother on several projects, told the publication. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. Today the world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”