Super Size Me's Morgan Spurlock admits sexual misconduct in open letter

Film-maker Morgan Spurlock has admitted to acts of sexual misconduct in an open letter, describing himself as “part of the problem” .

In a lengthy statement posted on Twitter, the Super Size Me director revealed that he was once accused of rape and had settled a sexual harassment claim made by a female employee. Spurlock also admitted to being “unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend I have ever had”.

“As I sit around watching hero after hero, man after man, fall at the realisation of their past indiscretions, I don’t sit by and wonder ‘who will be next?’ I wonder, ‘when will they come for me?’” Spurlock wrote.

The director said that the allegation of rape occurred while he was at college. While no charges or investigations were brought against him, the claimant named Spurlock in an essay on the incident that was read aloud in class.

“In my mind, we’d been drinking all night and went back to my room,” he wrote. “We began fooling around, she pushed me off, then we laid in the bed and talked and laughed some more, and then began fooling around again. We took off our clothes. She said she didn’t want to have sex, so we laid together, and talked, and kissed, and laughed, and then we started having sex.”

When the woman then started to cry Spurlock said that he “didn’t know what to do. We stopped having sex and I rolled beside her. I tried to comfort her. To make her feel better. I thought I was doing ok, I believed she was feeling better. She believed she was raped.”

Spurlock said the allegation of harassment was made by an office assistant in 2009, and that he had paid a sum to settle it.

“I would call my female assistant ‘hot pants’ or ‘sex pants’ when I was yelling to her from the other side of the office. Something I thought was funny at the time, but then realized I had completely demeaned and belittled her to a place of non-existence.

“So, when she decided to quit, she came to me and said if I didn’t pay her a settlement, she would tell everyone. Being who I was, it was the last thing I wanted, so of course, I paid. I paid for peace of mind. I paid for her silence and cooperation. Most of all, I paid so I could remain who I was,” he said.

The director said that he had been the victim of sexual abuse as a child, and had a drinking problem. He concluded the letter by promising to “do better. The only individual I have control over is me. So starting today, I’m going to be more honest with you and myself. I’m going to lay it all out in the open. Maybe that will be a start. Who knows. But I do know I’ve talked enough in my life. I’m finally ready to listen.”

The admission by Spurlock follows a number of sexual abuse allegations made against men in the entertainment industry, including James Toback, Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein. In an essay published by the New York Times on Wednesday, actor Salma Hayek joined more than 90 women in accusing Weinstein of sexual assault. The producer denies any claims of non-consensual sex made against him.