From Scamanda to Anatomy of Lies, stories of people who lied about having cancer — and got famous doing it — have pervaded pop culture as of late. Now, Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar follows the phenomenon to Australia.
Unlike the other shows in the illness fraud genre, Apple Cider Vinegar is not a docuseries. The streamer refers to the six-part drama as a “true-ish story based on a lie,” with many elements fictionalized for the screen.
But its central character shares her name with wellness influencer Belle Gibson, who once touted alternative remedies to treat her cancer despite not really having it. Here’s an update on where Gibson, played by Kaitlyn Dever in Apple Cider Vinegar, is today.
A Dangerous Deceit
In their 2017 book The Woman Who Fooled the World (which inspired Apple Cider Vinegar), journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano recall receiving a tip from Gibson’s friend, Chanelle, in early 2015.
By this point, Gibson had cultivated a lucrative online presence based on treating her alleged brain cancer with nutrition and alternative therapies. Her brand included an app and corresponding cookbook, The Whole Pantry, which would later be put out of print. The book encouraged readers to nourish themselves “in a more natural and sustainable way” inspired by Gibson’s journey of feeling “unsupported by conventional medicine.”
Chanelle, however, was skeptical that her friend had cancer. Her tip led to Donelly and Toscano publishing an article for The Age that questioned Gibson’s claims about her charitable giving.
Continued public scrutiny into Gibson’s alleged medical history followed. When asked by The Australian Women’s Weekly in a May 2015 interview if she had or ever had had cancer, the influencer said, “No. None of it’s true.”
In 2017, The Guardian notes, the Federal Court of Australia fined Gibson $410,000 for breaching consumer laws, including falsely claiming she’d donate $150,000 to the family of a young boy with brain cancer.
Belle Gibson Today
Despite the debt, Gibson reportedly spent $91,000 between 2017 and 2019, according to Consumer Affairs Victoria — though she didn’t believe the figure was “correct,” per Australia’s ABC News.
The regulator’s analysis reportedly found that Gibson had spent $13,000 on clothes, cosmetics, and accessories in that time frame. The former influencer said she’d been working as a carer.
In 2023, Donelly and Toscano asked Consumer Affairs Victoria for an update on Gibson’s debt. They reported that “the entire amount is still outstanding,” per their book’s 2025 edition.
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