We learn about the shocking story of Belle Gibson in Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar is currently one of the most-watched shows on Netflix in Ireland. The series tells the story of Australian influencer Belle Gibson who lied about having brain cancer.
Gibson told her online community that she got better by eating a balanced diet, but she never had cancer in the first place.
Gibson also told her followers that she treated her cancer by using alternative medical practices.
The series focuses on our harmful relationships with influencers and how easily we believe what they say. Many people fell for her lies and she ended up being one of the most popular influencers in Australia until The Age newspaper exposed her lies.
Netflix has stressed that the Apple Cider Vinegar series is based on a true story but it is a work of fiction.
What did Belle Gibson do?
In an April 2015 interview, Belle Gibson finally admitted that she was lying about having multiple cancers.
As well as her false brain cancer diagnosis, she also claimed to have blood, spleen, uterine, liver, and kidney cancers.
Belle grew a mammoth social following by lying about her diagnosis. She even launched an app called The Whole Pantry in 2013 and released a cookbook in 2014 before her career went up in flames.
Gibson’s friend Chanelle McAuliffe urged her to tell the truth but she refused. McAuliffe was growing concerned about the damage her lies were causing so she contacted the police, a lawyer and an investigative journalist.
However, they did not take her claims seriously.
She eventually met Beau Donnelly and Nick Toscano from The Age, who recognised her as a legitimate whistleblower.
The journalists revealed that Gibson was guilty of fraud after she lied about donating to charity.
She claimed to have donated $300,000 to five charities, but it was later revealed that only $7,000 in donations was paid.
Not only did she fail to donate the funds raised to charity, but Gibson also lied to the family of a boy with brain cancer.
In 2015, the boy’s family came forward and confirmed that she never told them she was raising money for their son and stressed that they never received a penny from her.
Where is Belle Gibson now?
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took legal action against Belle Gibson in 2016.
Gibson was found guilty of misleading the public into believing natural remedies and alternative medicines could cure cancer.
The federal court found that there was “no reasonable basis for believing she had cancer.”
Gibson was fined $410,000 for misleading and deceptive conduct.
The fines went unpaid and her home was raided multiple times following the court’s ruling.
It is believed she has still not paid the fines.
The federal court acknowledged that Gibson may have suffered from “a series of delusions about her health condition.”
Gibson has stayed out of the public eye since 2017 but was reportedly ‘adopted’ by Ehiopia’s Oromo community in Melbourne.
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