But Belle Gibson’s millions of followers and mega bucks business deals were built on a lie - she faked her brain cancer diagnosis and conned family, friends and investors for years.
Next week sees the UK premiere of Disney+ show Scamanda, which tells the true story of Amanda Riley, a devoutly Christian young Californian woman who faked cancer for almost a decade.
But her empire was soon going to come tumbling down when her friend Chanelle McAuliffe confronted her with suspicions that Gibson’s cancer claims were false and that she was operating a scam.
She launched a blog ‘Lymphoma Can Suck It” and defrauded thousands of people by inviting supporters and local community members to donate money to help fund her medical care, and received a signed guitar from a meet-and-greet with country singer LeAnn Rimes.
Belle Gibson’s story is the subject of new Netflix drama Apple Cider Vinegar with Kaitlyn Dever starring as the Aussie scammer.
