The new Netflix drama, which premieres on Thursday 6 February, is inspired by the true story of Belle Gibson, a social media influencer who duped millions of followers into believing she could manage her terminal cancer diagnosis through wellness.
But this all came crashing down when she revealed on an interview she had never been diagnosed with cancer.
Belle is portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever in Apple Cider Vinegar. (Photo: Netflix)
Australian Annabelle Gibson was born in Launceston, Tasmania and went to school in Manly, Queensland.
She claimed her diagnosis of a malignant brain tumour came in 2009, when she was told she had six weeks to live. But she said she had given up her chemotherapy treatment after it made her sick and instead decided to adopt a wellness and natural living lifestyle.
And she later said her cancer had spread to her blood, spleen, uterus and liver.
In her first post, she wrote: “Five years ago today, I was sitting in front of a man who was about to tell me I was dying from malignant brain cancer with six months to live.”
Soon afterwards in 2014, she signed a book deal with Lantern Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, for a cookbook entitled The Whole Pantry.
But her downfall began in 2015 with investigations into her assertions she had donated some of her proceeds to charity.
And it eventually emerged only an estimated $7,000 of the previously claimed $300,000 had been donated to a total of three charities.
Friend and colleague Chanelle McAuliffe had also started to become suspicious about MsGibson’s claims after an apparent “seizure” and eventually reported her to the police.
He told the ITV documentary: “I realised, if it’s a scam, it’s a really big scam.
He eventually interviewed the social media star for The Australian, where she claimed her doctor had diagnosed her and then gone missing, making her realise she might have been misdiagnosed and maybe didn’t have cancer after all.
After the truth came out, she gave an interview to The Australian Women’s Weekly admitting her cancer diagnosis was a lie.
Belle Gibson at a food market. (Photo: Brent Parker Jones/BBC/Minnow Films)
Where is Belle Gibson now?
Consumer Affairs Victoria brought legal action against Ms Gibson for allegedly breaking Australian consumer law.
Federal Court judge Debra Mortimer found Belle had “played on the public’s desire to help those less fortunate” and she “had no reasonable basis to believe she had cancer from the time she began making these claims in public to promote The Whole Pantry Book and the apps in mid-2013″.
A year earlier, she was reported to have been spotted at Melbourne airport having returned from an $8,000 (£4,000) safari trip.
However, this claim was later disputed by president of the Australian Oromo Community Association in Victoria, Tarekegn Chimdia.
She is reported to have said: “Have some humanity, I haven’t paid things because I can’t afford to”.
The 33-year-old continues to live in the Melbourne area.
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