Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker best known for his documentary Super Size Me, has died at the age of 53.
His family announced his death in a statement Friday, saying he “passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends on May 23, 2024, in New York from complications of cancer.”
“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” said Craig Spurlock, who worked with his brother on several projects. “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.”
Super Size Me, which hit theatres in 2004, earned Spurlock an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. In the film, he challenged himself to only eat meals from McDonald’s for a month — never being allowed to turn down the “super-size” option of the meal, if offered — while monitoring the effects on his mental and physical health and taking a deep dive into the inner workings of the fast food industry.
By the end of the month, Spurlock said he was suffering from liver dysfunction, depression and had gained 25 pounds.
The movie, which grossed US$22 million in theatres worldwide, prompted McDonald’s to cut its “super-size” option from menus.
After the success of Super Size Me, he went on to create several other documentaries: Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden (2008), The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011) and the 2017 sequel Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!
He also had his own production company, Warrior Poets, which produced and directed nearly 70 documentary films and series.
FILE – Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock participates in the BUILD Speaker Series to discuss the film, ‘Go North,’ at AOL Studios on Jan. 4, 2017, in New York.
Evan Agostini/ Invision / AP
In 2017, as the #MeToo movement gained traction, Spurlock posted an open letter on Twitter where he admitted he was “part of the problem” and admitted to settling a 2009 sexual harassment claim made by a female office assistant. He also revealed he was accused of rape while in college and wrote that he’d been “unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend I ever had.”
He stepped down from Warrior Poets shortly after the confession, effectively ending his filmmaking career.
Spurlock is survived by his former spouses; two children, Laken and Kallen; his mother, Phyllis Spurlock and father, Ben; two brothers and a handful of nieces and nephews.