Morgan Spurlock catapulted into public consciousness after his documentary Super Size Me demonstrated the swift and drastic impact of eating McDonald's fast food three times a day for a month straight in 2004. Much to his viewers' surprise, Spurlock later opened a fast food restaurant of his own in 2016, which he claimed to be more "humane" than other chains.
A year later, the filmmaker outed himself for sexual misconduct in the wake of the #MeToo movement and stepped down from his production company Warrior Poets. He was sued by investors of his upcoming projects and ceased to make documentaries altogether.
Just seven years after his early retirement, Spurlock has died aged 53 from complications of cancer. "Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man," his brother Craig said yesterday. "I am so proud to have worked together with him."
In the wake of the documentary maker's death, here are the moments that charted his rise to fame and his subsequent notoriety.
2004
Spurlock gained global fame in 2004 with the release of his documentary Super Size Me. For the film, the director ate 90 meals including burgers, french fries, breakfast sandwiches and flapjacks at McDonald's, which he said was the amount an ordinary person might eat in eight years. After the month was over, Spurlock gained two stone and had hugely increased cholesterol.
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Denne historien er fra May 25, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.
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