The Rise and Fall of Belle Gibson; A Cautionary Tale of Deception in the Wellness Industry
Belle Gibson, an Australian wellness influencer, rose to fame in the early 2010s by claiming she had cured her terminal brain cancer through holistic therapies and a healthy diet. Her story, which she shared on Instagram under the handle “Healing Belle,” captivated hundreds of thousands of followers. She leveraged her popularity to launch a successful app, The Whole Pantry, and a cookbook of the same name, both of which promoted her wellness philosophy. However, in 2015, her empire crumbled when investigative journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano exposed her lies about charitable donations and her cancer diagnosis.
Gibson had claimed to donate proceeds from her app and book to various charities, but investigations revealed no funds were ever transferred. Further scrutiny uncovered that her cancer diagnosis was entirely fabricated. Medical records showed no evidence of the illness, and her claims of undergoing treatments like chemotherapy and radiation were debunked. Despite the mounting evidence, Gibson initially maintained her innocence, suggesting she may have been misdiagnosed or misled herself. She eventually admitted to lying in a 2015 interview with 60 Minutes Australia but offered no clear explanation for her actions.
In 2017, Gibson was found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct by the Federal Court of Australia and fined A$410,000. However, as of late 2023, she had not paid the fine. Her story has since been dramatized in Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar, which explores her rise and fall while highlighting the dangers of misinformation in the wellness industry. Gibson, who has largely disappeared from public life, remains a cautionary tale about the consequences of exploiting vulnerable communities for personal gain.
What is fact and what is fiction in Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar?
A new Netflix series dramatises the real-life story of Belle Gibson, the Australian wellness influencer who built an empire off the back of a non-exis
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Did Belle Gibson Actually Have Cancer? Inside the 'Apple Cider Vinegar' True Story and the Influencer's Real-Life Disease-Curing Scam
Here’s a closer look at the true story behind Netflix’s limited series ‘Apple Cider Vinegar,' which depicts the rise and fall of Australian wellness i
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The True Story Behind Apple Cider Vinegar
How Belle Gibson got caught faking cancer and why she may have faked cancer in the first place.
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Who is Belle Gibson? The True Story Behind Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar - E! Online
Belle Gibson, the inspiration for Netflix’s new series Apple Cider Vinegar, built a brand on the lie that she cured her terminal cancer through
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Apple Cider Vinegar review – the wild wellness scammer who claimed she beat cancer with healthy living
Kaitlyn Dever gives a masterly performance in this fast, witty and furious dramatisation of the life of influencer and fake health guru Belle Gibson
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Where is the real Belle Gibson, whose true story inspired ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’, now?
Gibson is a disgraced wellness influencer who lied about having brain cancer.
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Apple Cider Vinegar: How Instagram wellness guru Belle Gibson faked cancer – and caused a scandal
New Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar tells the story of an influencer who lied about having a terminal illness to promote alternative therapies. A d
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‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ True Story: Belle Gibson and the Real Wellness Con Behind New Netflix Drama
In Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar, Kaitlyn Dever portrays Belle Gibson, who claimed she overcame terminal brain cancer through healthy eating.
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How Cancer Scammer Belle Gibson Became “One of the Most Hated Women in Australia”
“She’s my absolutely favorite kind of protagonist to write because she’s so deeply flawed and problematic, but we can only speculate why,” says the cr
www.vanityfair.comBelle Gibson built a wellness empire on the lie that she had cancer. After she got caught, her story took an even stranger turn.
Belle Gibson, an influencer who promoted her wellness app by lying about having cancer, is the inspiration for Apple Cider Vinegar. Here's where she i
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