Controversial documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who directed and starred in 2004's "Super Size Me," died Thursday night due to complications of cancer. He was 53.
"It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan," Craig Spurlock, Morgan's brother and frequent collaborator, said in a statement to Variety. "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."
Spurlock gained widespread fame with the documentary "Super Size Me," in which he claimed to consume nothing but McDonald's food for 30 days. As part of the experiment, he could not refuse to "super size" his meal if prompted to do so by an employee during the transaction.
Over the course of the project, which was nominated for an Oscar, Spurlock's physical and mental health deteriorated, prompting widespread debate about fast food and healthy eating habits. But in the years since, the conclusions of the film have been called into question after Spurlock admitted drinking heavily while filming.
Spurlock was further embroiled in controversy in 2017, at the height of the MeToo movement, when he took to social media to confess cheating on "every wife and girlfriend I have ever had." He also admitted paying a settlement to an assistant he repeatedly sexually harassed, and stepped down from his production company.
The director was married to first wife Priscilla Sommer from 1996 to 2003. He was married to Alex Jamieson from 2006 to 2011, and then married Sara Bernstein in 2016.
He is survived by Bernstein along with 17-year-old son Laken, whom he shared with Jamieson, and 8-year-old son Kallen, whom he shared with Bernstein.
-With reporting from TMX.
