We all know influencers aren’t telling 100% of the truth 100% of the time, but there’s a difference between making it seem like your house is nicer than it is or that you have the perfect relationship, and lying about cancer. That’s exactly what Belle Gibson did.
You might know Gibson as the health influencer who claimed she cured her cancer with a healthy diet, all while never having cancer at all. Now, Netflix is giving us a fictionalized version of Gibson’s rise and fall in Apple Cider Vinegar, set to premiere on February 6. Here’s what we know about Gibson’s story.
Who is Belle Gibson?
Belle Gibson rose to fame in the early 2010s through her work as an Australian wellness influencer. Mostly, though, Gibson is known for faking cancer and claiming that she got rid of it through a combination of healthy eating and holistic remedies.
According to Elle, Gibson said she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain cancer, given only four months to live. But in 2013, Gibson said on Instagram that she had inexplicably “cured” her cancer via her gluten- and sugar-free diet, selling her 300,000 followers a lie. (Her account is now deleted.) Gibson never had cancer, but she developed The Whole Pantry, an app and a cook book designed to bring this supposed miracle diet to her fans. Via the app, users could get recipes and guidance from Gibson, according to Cosmopolitan.
Did Belle Gibson have cancer?
Though Gibson regularly claimed to have suffered from and survived cancer through natural remedies, she didn’t have cancer at all. The truth came out when rising social media star Gibson was asked to provide details and evidence of her claims by friends and the media, and was unable to do so. In 2015, Gibson went on 60 Minutes to claim that she had been diagnosed by a doctor who had purposefully lied and told her she had a brain tumor. Gibson also falsely claimed that her cancer diagnosis and brain tumor were a result of a negative reaction to a vaccine and, according to Forbes, “that she briefly died during a medical procedure and that her cancer spread to her spleen, liver, uterus, and blood – but that it was cured by fruits, vegetables, and natural remedies.”
Gibson’s falsehoods unraveled when, right before her cookbook, The Whole Pantry, was to be released in the U.K. and U.S., reporters from The Age looked into her claims and found “everything was based on a litany of falsehoods.”
Gibson eventually told The Australian Women’s Weekly that “none of it’s true” when asked if she ever had cancer. She was fined $410,000 by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission after being found guilty of violating five counts of consumer law.
Where is Belle Gibson now?
No one really knows – but in 2020, ABC Australia reported that Gibson was “attending an event for Ethiopia’s Oromo community in Melbourne while wearing a headscarf and using a different name.” Gibson has largely stayed out of the public eye following the scandal.
Have other people faked cancer?
Yes. Actually, faking cancer is a far more common scam than you'd think. In 2019, The Atlantic published an article about “Munchausen by internet,” or the phenomenon of people faking cancer online. According to the article, “people in online cancer support groups are routinely outed as healthy,” though there's no data on the actual prevalence of this scam.
Psychologists told Yahoo Life that some people may fake cancer because they want attention, others may do it because they enjoy deceiving people, while others might have a condition called factitious disorder (formerly known as Munchausen sydnrome) that involves wanting to be seen as sick.
Whatever the reason someone fakes cancer, it's clear the public is fascinated with these cases. In addition to Gibson's story coming to Netflix, an ABC News documentary on Amanda Christine Riley, a woman who faked cancer and has become known as Scamanda, is now available to stream on Hulu. And, a docuseries on Elisabeth Finch, a former Grey's Anatomy writer who lied extensively, including faking cancer, aired on Peacock in the fall.
Is Apple Cider Vinegar a true story?
Apple Cider Vinegar is a work of fiction based on the real-life story of Belle Gibson. The six-episode series follows two young women who try to use wellness remedies to cure their fatal illnesses and gain followings while they do it — but it’s all based on a lie. It’s inspired by The Woman Who Fooled the World, a book about Gibson by journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano.
Kaitlyn Dever plays Gibson in the series.
Watch the trailer here:
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