WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A decade after wellness influencer Belle Gibson admitted to fabricating her terminal brain cancer diagnosis, which she falsely claimed to have cured through a healthy lifestyle that propelled her to fame, her story has inspired a new Netflix series. This has reignited public anger in Australia due to the unresolved nature of the case.
Authorities announced this week that they are continuing to pursue the discredited Instagram personality for unpaid penalties. This action has intensified the ongoing public resentment in Australia concerning one of the nation’s most audacious online deceptions, which highlighted the detrimental effects of misleading health information on social media.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Netflix’s dramatized account of Gibson’s narrative released this month, omits the events that transpired after the revelation in 2015 that she was not ill. In reality, she was never prosecuted criminally.
However, in 2017, an Australian federal court imposed a fine of 410,000 Australian dollars ($261,000) on her for funds raised for charity that she failed to donate. A spokesperson for the consumer protection agency in Victoria stated to The Associated Press that they are still working to recover these funds.
What was Belle Gibson charged with?
Gibson’s health-focused recipe application, The Whole Pantry, garnered 200,000 downloads within a month from the Apple store in 2013. She asserted that earnings from the app and her cookbook—published under a Penguin imprint—would be allocated to charitable organizations and to the family of a child battling cancer.
Only 2% of the total funds were donated, and Gibson was determined to have violated consumer protection laws. A court mandated that she provide the remaining funds and prohibited her from making further health claims.
In a communication to the court, Gibson stated that she was in debt, unemployed, and unable to meet the financial obligations.
“Consumer Affairs Victoria has continued to take steps to enforce the debt owed by Annabelle Natalie Gibson (Belle Gibson) under court order,” the agency said in a statement released Wednesday.
The statement did not specify whether any of the money had been recovered. Authorities have conducted two raids on Gibson’s residence in an effort to seize assets, but the outcomes were not publicly disclosed.
What is she saying now?
The AP attempted to contact Gibson for her input, but no response was received. She has refrained from making public statements for several years and had no involvement with, nor was she compensated by, the producers of the Netflix program.
Jacinta Allan, the premier of Victoria, expressed her “disappointment” this month that the matter remains unresolved. However, she assured reporters that authorities “won’t relent.”
Richard Guilliatt, the journalist who initially reported Gibson’s deception in 2015, noted that the absence of legal repercussions continues to fuel “resentment” toward the former influencer.
“The situation persists as a kind of unresolved issue,” he commented. “Her experience has been one of immense public shaming. I tend to think that people will eventually need to move on.”
Did the case prompt changes?
Gibson’s book publisher paid a $30,000 ($19,000 US) fine in the civil case for neglecting to verify her claims.
While Gibson has not faced additional charges, her case has had other consequences. Australia’s regulations regarding therapeutic health claims underwent significant revisions in 2022, and breaches can now result in fines amounting to millions of dollars—modifications that some analysts partially attribute to Gibson’s actions.
Paid endorsements for such products are now prohibited, and individuals asserting expertise in health matters are barred from endorsing them.
“This would have been applicable to the therapeutic claims made by Belle,” commented Suzy Madar, a partner at the Sydney-based law firm King & Wood Mallesons.
How have Australians responded to the series?
Apple Cider Vinegar has been commended for its critique of online wellness culture—while also drawing criticism from Australians involved in the actual events depicted. The series is described as a “mostly true story, based on a lie,” and Gibson is the only real individual portrayed in the show.
However, Queensland resident Col Ainscough, whose wife and daughter—also a wellness influencer—both succumbed to cancer, denounced the production in a statement this month. He objected because its characters included a family with a different name whose story appeared to mirror his own.
Ainscough stated that the show was “insensitive and clearly motivated by profit.”
Premier Allan told reporters, “Behind the TV stories, behind the dramatization, are real people who have had their lives devastated by the actions of this individual.”
Reporter Guilliatt observes that the case remains captivating as one of Australia’s most “bizarre and blatant” online scams.
“I’d like to believe that it served as a wake-up call for many people,” he stated. “I hope it has had an impact on people’s tendency to blindly accept advice on serious health matters online.”