The new Netflix series "Apple Cider Vinegar" tells the story of the rapid rise and ignominious fall of Australian health fraudster Belle Gibson. Before the end credits roll, a title card pops up on the screen, beginning to explain the legal consequences Gibson faced after deceiving multi-billion dollar companies, publishers, and the public by falsely claiming to have cancer and pocketing thousands of dollars raised for cancer charities. This sets the stage for understanding the magnitude of her deception.
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02-11, 2025However, before the typist can finish the sentence, the Netflix version of Gibson (played by American actress Katelyn Dever) suddenly appears, ordering viewers to search on Google themselves. As far as "Apple Cider Vinegar" is concerned, Gibson's story ends with the complete collapse of her reputation after she publicly admitted that she never had cancer. This abrupt ending leaves out crucial details about the aftermath.
But the reality is that the legal consequences of Gibson's confession lasted for years and resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid fines. Belle Gibson launched her health app, "The Whole Pantry," in August 2013 and quickly rose to fame. The app was hailed as "the world's first health, wellness, and lifestyle app," half a collection of healthy recipes and half a guide to positive thinking and its supposed effects on personal well-being. The app's appeal was broad, attracting users interested in both physical and mental health.
In the early 2010s, as Instagram became the hot new thing, the app quickly went viral. It garnered 200,000 downloads in its first month after release and was named Apple's Best Food and Drink App of 2013. Gibson soon signed a publishing deal with Penguin, and The Whole Pantry hardcover book was released in late 2014. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that her app was destined to be a pre-installed default third-party app in the upcoming Apple Watch. This marked the peak of her success and influence.
As her public profile soared, Gibson claimed she donated 25% of company profits and claimed to have donated $300,000 to various charities. But in reality, Gibson donated less than $10,000 from approximately $420,000 in revenue. At the same time, Gibson's story began to unravel, with articles appearing in Australian news publications claiming she was lying about both her charitable donations and her health condition. In April 2015, Gibson admitted that she did not, and never had, have cancer. This confession shattered her carefully constructed image.
The series is "inspired by" the 2017 book "The Woman Who Fooled the World" by journalists Beau Donnelly and Nick Toscano. These two journalists were reporters for The Age who spearheaded the coverage of Gibson's fraud. The skeleton of Gibson's story—such as her rise on social media, her publishing deal, and her infamous "60 Minutes" interview after admitting to lying—did happen. But most of the connective tissue of the series is fictional. This highlights the difference between a dramatization and a true recounting of events.
The B-story involving rival influencer Mira Blake is reminiscent of things that happened to some real-life figures, but the character is an amalgamation of health influencers and believers at the time. Additions to the C-story, such as the inclusion of Belle's fan and cancer patient Lucy, are fictional. According to Netflix, the series is a "work of fiction," and their promotional materials emphasize that "certain characters and events have been created or fictionalized" and that "the series is not a biopic." This disclaimer aims to protect Netflix from potential legal challenges.
Last year, Netflix ran into trouble with the stalker series "Baby Reindeer," which was promoted in promotional materials as a "true story." Scottish woman Fiona Harvey (identified by internet detectives as the stalker of the series' protagonist and writer Richard Gadd) filed a lawsuit against Netflix in 2024, claiming that the streaming company fabricated her actions and presented them as real, causing her damage. In September 2024, a U.S. judge ruled that Harvey could sue Netflix for defamation, noting that the series was falsely promoted as a "true story" and that Netflix "made no effort" to verify Gadd's story. This case underscores the importance of truthfulness in portraying real-life events.
Months after Gibson's infamous "60 Minutes" interview, in May 2016, the Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) announced that it would be taking civil action against her and her company after investigating allegations that Gibson had violated Australian consumer law. CAV also confirmed that Penguin had assisted with the investigation, admitting that it had not verified Gibson's health claims before publishing The Whole Pantry cookbook, and agreed to donate $30,000 to the Victorian Consumer Law Fund. This highlights the responsibility of publishers to verify claims made in their publications.
In March 2017, Federal Court Justice Debra Mortimer upheld "most but not all" of CAV's allegations, finding that Gibson, then 25, engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. Justice Mortimer did not accept CAV's allegation that Gibson's conduct was unconscionable, claiming that she was in a "delusional" state when she released her book. The published ruling stated, "She may have had other psychological or psychiatric issues." This suggests a more complex understanding of Gibson's motivations and actions.
Gibson was not prosecuted or convicted of any crime. She was found to have violated consumer law, but this is different from, and less serious than, criminal fraud charges, which could have resulted in imprisonment. However, she was hit with hefty fines following the civil case ruling in September 2017. She was first ordered to pay $30,000 in legal costs for the civil case. The Federal Court in Melbourne imposed an additional $410,000 in fines—$10,000 less than what CAV claimed The Whole Pantry cookbook and app earned. These fines were intended to compensate for her deceptive practices.
The penalties included: $90,000 for failing to donate proceeds from sales of The Whole Pantry app as publicly advertised; $50,000 for failing to donate proceeds from The Whole Pantry app launch; $30,000 for failing to donate proceeds from a 2014 Mother's Day event; and $90,000 for failing to donate other company profits. Gibson did not attend any of the original court hearings, nor did she attend the date the fines were announced. Her absence further demonstrated her lack of accountability.
By May 2018, Gibson's fines remained unpaid, leading CAV to launch further legal action. The legal action continued into 2019, when Gibson did appear in court as her spending came under scrutiny, with the then 27-year-old claiming she was still unable to repay the debt. A financial analysis of Gibson revealed she had spent approximately $91,000 between 2017 and 2019, including trips to Bali and Africa, and an estimated $13,000 on clothing, cosmetics, and accessories. This spending pattern contradicted her claims of financial hardship.
In the early days of her social media rise, Gibson befriended Penny Schwartz and her young son, Joshua. Joshua was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer similar to the illness Gibson was claiming to have at the time. According to court documents, the Schwartz family was one of the reasons Gibson promised to donate proceeds from her app launch event tickets. She also claimed that 100% of proceeds from The Whole Pantry app sold in a week in December 2013 would be donated to the Schwartz family. But no such donation was ever made. This was a particularly egregious aspect of her fraud.
As part of the 2017 ruling, Gibson was ordered to pay $150,000 for failing to donate the money to the Schwartz family. Justice Mortimer called this the "most egregious" contravention. Justice Mortimer said, "Ms. Gibson deliberately played on the genuine and altruistic wishes of members of the public to give support to a young child with a terrible disease; a young child she specifically compared to herself as suffering the same tumor; this was a complete fabrication." Joshua passed away in 2017. This emphasizes the devastating impact of Gibson's lies on vulnerable individuals.
In January 2020, as her unpaid fines (including penalties and interest) had exceeded $500,000, the Sheriff's Office of Victoria searched Gibson's residence with a "search and sell" warrant. The Sheriff's Office was authorized to seize items and sell them to repay the debt. CAV would not confirm whether the search resulted in the recovery of any of the unpaid fines. The day after the search was reported, a video surfaced on social media of Gibson attending an Ethiopian Oromo community event in Melbourne, wearing a hijab and using a different name. This suggests she was attempting to evade detection and accountability.
In May 2021, Gibson's residence in Northcote, Melbourne, was searched for a second time in a further attempt to seize items for sale, thereby repaying her outstanding debts. This persistent effort to recover the funds highlights the ongoing legal pursuit of Gibson.
