Apple Cider Vinegar has become a Netflix sensation, featuring Kaitlyn Dever as Belle Gibson, an Australian con artist who falsely claimed to have brain cancer and profited from it. She asserted that she had shunned traditional treatments in favour of self-healing through alternative methods.
Launching a mobile app named The Whole Pantry and penning a book, she purported to offer support to those with serious terminal illnesses, promising that her business profits would go to charity—a promise that was never fulfilled. In March 2015, after investigations revealed the deceit behind Gibson's charitable claims, it emerged that she had also concocted her cancer narratives and lied about her age, personal life, and background.
Tara Brown of 60 Minutes Australia conducted the notorious television interview that further unmasked Belle. At the start of the interview, Belle pledged to viewers that she would be completely honest, claiming she had been "really transparent" about the events.
When Tara inquired whether Belle would sign a statutory declaration affirming her honesty, Belle responded: "Absolutely". She conceded, "There's nothing left to lose," adding, "And if that requires a stat dec then I'm comfortable with that.". In a gripping interview, Belle Gibson faced tough questions about whether she had exploited people's trust and sympathy. She insisted: "I didn't trade in my story or in other people's lives.".
As the interviewer, Tara, confronted her with excerpts from her book claiming natural remedies cured her cancer, Belle was forced to admit: "No, I didn't [have brain cancer], but when I was writing that I thought that I did, and I was feeling well.". She expressed remorse, saying: "I'm really sorry, it hurts me and I beat myself up every day for how I have hurt those who mean a lot to me.".
Belle's fabrications extended beyond her health; she also struggled with revealing her true age and was dishonest about her upbringing. When asked directly by Tara, "Belle, this is a really simple question, how old are you? " she hesitated, replying: "I believe that I'm 26," unable to maintain her fabricated narrative. The host highlighted the serious impact of Belle's deceit on families, including one whose son Joshua had cancer and felt betrayed by her.
Belle, accused of using their son's symptoms to bolster her own fake illness narrative, said: "Their family means a lot to me because of the care and the love and the friendship that we have grown over the last year. "That family was one I did have little interaction with. I understand that they are hurting but I also know that I never questioned Joshua or his mother about his symptoms.".
In her concluding remarks during the interview, she insisted that she was the real victim. "I have been going through this, since last year," she stated. "This has been a really private ordeal for me to know where I stand. "Why shouldn't it be public?" Tara challenged. "You were happy for the lies to be public - what about the truth?".
