Super Size Me documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock died from cancer complications and had been receiving chemotherapy when he died at age 53 on Thursday.
Spurlock’s family announced his death Friday in a statement.
They did not specify what type of cancer he was fighting or when he was diagnosed.
Morgan Spurlock has died of cancer at the age of 53
Spurlock earned an Oscar nomination for his groundbreaking 2004 documentary.
He ate McDonald’s for 30 days to test what the effects would be on his body.
The result was shocking; He gained 24 pounds and his liver swelled.
The film grossed $20 million worldwide and started a fresh food revolution in the fast food industry.
Spurlock was skeptical about how many real changes had actually been made when asked about the issue in 2019.
‘There’s been a huge change and people ask me: “So food has become healthier?” And I say, “Well, marketing has,” she said.
Spurlock was universally praised for his groundbreaking documentary that highlighted how unhealthy fast food is.
“Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity,” his brother, Craig Spurlock, said in a statement to ABC News.
“It was a sad day as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” Craig Spurlock, who worked with him on several projects, said in the statement.
‘Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man.
“I am very proud to have worked alongside him.”
Spurlock also directed the 2013 One Direction concert and documentary One Direction: This Is Us.
The West Virginia native produced nearly 70 documentaries through his production company Warrior Poet.
The follow-up film to Super Size Me, ‘Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!’ was removed from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival after Spurlock admitted to sexual misconduct.
Spurlock said he was accused of rape while in college, settled a sexual harassment case with an assistant in his office and was unfaithful to all of his wives and girlfriends.
His physical and mental health declined rapidly and he gained 24.5 pounds by the end of the experiment.
“For me, there was a moment where I realized, as someone who tells the truth and who has put in the effort to try to do the right thing, to recognize that I could do better in my own life. “We should be able to admit that we were wrong,” he told the AP.
Spurlock immediately resigned from Warrior Poets, the production company he co-founded.
‘Super Size Me 2: Holy shit!’ He was released two years later.
Spurlock was a gonzo filmmaker who leaned toward the strange and ridiculous. His stylistic touches included fast graphics and fun music, combining a Michael Moore-style in-your-face camera style with his own sense of humor and pathos.
Since exposing the fast food and chicken industries, there has been an explosion in restaurants emphasizing freshness, artisanal methods, farm-to-table goodness, and ethically sourced ingredients. But nutritionally it hasn’t changed much.
‘There’s been a huge change and people ask me: “So food has become healthier?” And I say, “Well, marketing has,” he told the AP in 2019.
The filmmaker is survived by two children, his parents and his ex-wives Alexandra Jamieson and Sara Bernstein.