A new Netflix series tells the story of Australian influencer Belle Gibson, who deceived thousands by claiming she had cured herself of terminal cancer through alternative therapies. The truth, which she later admitted, was that she had never been ill.
In 2009, Gibson, then aged 20, said she had been diagnosed with malignant brain cancer and given weeks to live. She claimed she rejected conventional treatment in favour of natural healing through nutrition and positivity. Her story attracted a large online following, leading to a best-selling wellness app and cookbook, 'The Whole Pantry', and media accolades including a 'Fun, Fearless Female' award from Cosmopolitan in 2014.
Doubts began to emerge in the Australian press, and in 2014 she posted on Instagram claiming additional cancers in her blood, spleen, brain, uterus and liver. In April 2015, she admitted in an interview with Women's Weekly that 'none of it's true', but offered little by way of explanation.
The Netflix miniseries 'Apple Cider Vinegar' dramatises the scandal with a deliberately unstable narrative, blending reported facts with fictionalised sequences and disclaimers such as 'a true-ish story based on a lie'. It follows in the footsteps of other scammer dramas like 'Inventing Anna' and 'The Dropout', with Kaitlyn Dever portraying Gibson as a product of hustle culture gone wrong.
