If you regularly watch documentaries you will almost certainly have seen Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 doccie, Super Size Me. Spurlock became an overnight success with his film which showed the (apparently) devastating results of eating nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days, three times a day. Having consumed around 5,000 calories a day for the duration of the experiment, Spurlock gained 24 pounds and his body mass index increased by a staggering 13 percent. He also claims to have experienced mood swings, sexual dysfunction and – this is where it gets tricky – damage to his liver. He was also noticeably shaky (trembling) after the 30 days.
It took Spurlock 14 months of being on a strictly vegan diet to shed the extra pounds and return to his formerly healthy self; he claimed to have been “in a good spot” healthwise prior to the experiment.
Super Size Me garnered Spurlock a Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival, an Academy Award nomination and his very own show on CNN.
But a comment that Spurlock let slip recently during a #MeToo rant/confession about how he has been sexually harassing women for years, has cast serious doubts on the truthfulness of his claims about the impact of eating McDonald’s foods for a protracted period of time – particularly with regard to the damage he supposedly sustained to his liver.
Liar, liar, pants on fire …
In explaining his lack of sexual self-control Spurlock whined, “Is it because I’ve consistently been drinking since the age of 13? I haven’t been sober for more than a week in 30 years.” [Emphasis added]
Well now, Super Size Me was released in 2004, which is only 14 years ago. At the outset of the documentary, a doctor questioned Spurlock about his alcohol use and he insisted that he was eating and drinking nothing but food and drink sold over the counter at McDonald’s.
However, when the doctor examined him during the experiment he warned Spurlock that all that junk food was “pickling his liver,” leaving it looking “like an alcoholic’s after a binge.”
This caused a huge outcry after the release of the documentary, with publications like The New York Times running headlines such as “You Want Liver Failure With That?”
Phelim McAleer, writing for The Wall Street Journal, asked:
Could this be why his liver looked like that of an alcoholic? Were those shakes symptoms of alcohol withdrawal?
Now, we are in no way suggesting that consuming junk food like McDonald’s on a regular basis is in fact a healthy option. Spurlock was absolutely spot on when he shone a light on the negative impacts this type of food has in the long-term. (Related: Even while pledging "healthier" menu items, McDonald's has actually increased salt, sugar and calories.)
Nonetheless, the most shocking result of his experiment was certainly the “damage” to his liver, and if, as he is now claiming, he hasn’t been sober a week in the past 30 years, he must certainly have been drinking during the filming of the documentary, and the damage to his liver could surely not all be laid at McDonald’s door.
We echo the words of McAleer, who said:
Mr. Spurlock has recently emerged from rehab—yes, it was a 30-day stint—and is looking to revive his career. Maybe he will clean up his personal behavior, but he also owes viewers a full accounting of the truth behind “Super Size Me.”
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