“Apple Cider Vinegar” is a new limited series on Netflix starring Kaitlyn Dever as Australian scammer, Belle Gibson.
Photo Credit — Netflix
“Apple Cider Vinegar” is a Netflix docudrama that takes us into the twisted mind of infamous Australian fraudster, Belle Gibson. The “mostly true” retelling also dives deep into the stark realities of those living with cancer and the deeply misguided few who take advantage of them.
If you haven’t seen the real scathing interview from 60 Minutes Australia and reporter Tara Brown — and I highly recommend you do — Belle Gibson faked having brain cancer to promote her healthy eating brand and build her own wellness community. Her exchange with Brown has gone down in history as one of the most shocking, career-ending interviews of all time.
Her answers are so mind-blowingly bad, it’s like watching a car crash. I mean, I wish that when people asked me how old I am, I could also answer, “I’ve always been raised as being currently a 26-year-old.”
Everyone wants to believe that miracles are possible and Belle gave people a false sense of hope by claiming she was curing herself through healthy living alone. But, she wasn’t because she was never sick at all. Well, sick in the head, yes, but literally sick, absolutely not.
Belle Gibson profited off the most vulnerable, during a time in their lives when they felt others couldn’t understand what they were going through. Belle had such an optimistic approach to her diagnosis. She looked great, she seemed healthy, and everyone wanted to believe in her story. She had a successful brand, popular app, and a book deal all off the backs of her fans. Her millions of followers were devastated by the unfortunate truth that she was just a big fat liar — about everything and anything.
The limited series also introduces Milla, a fictional character who works as a foil for Belle. Though Milla is not a real person, her story about a health-forward woman who’s diagnosed with cancer at a young age feels very real. She blames herself for getting sick because she wasn’t good enough to her body, but sadly, sometime people just get sick and it sucks. Through Milla’s lens, we’re able to dig deeper into that potentially dangerous hope that cancer can be cured through wellness alone.
Milla’s piece of this limited series cut me so deeply, because I think we all want to believe there’s a secret cure in nature that “they’re just not telling us about.” I wish there was a shortcut to curing cancer, I really do. Unfortunately though, those often too are scams rather than proven science.
Now, holistic healers, don’t shy away from this watch. They aren’t going to tell you apple cider vinegar is bad for you or rain on your healthy living parade. This actually unpacks on an important conversation about health and wellness versus “Western Medicine.”
I don’t trust Big Pharma either! I completely understand the hesitancy to believe all that medicine and treatment, each coming with their own cruddy side effects, is the only way. There are indeed solutions in nature to health issues. However, more like chamomile to sleep better or pomegranates to reduce inflammation rather than eating whole foods to cure brain cancer. But, it’s so easy for anybody to get lost in all the mumbo jumbo out there on the internet.
So, who should we trust? Well, not Belle Gibson that’s for sure.
