Apple Cider Vinegar has become a smash hit on Netflix, featuring Kaitlyn Dever as Belle Gibson, the notorious Australian impostor who fabricated her brain cancer diagnosis and profited from it. Gibson eschewed traditional treatments claiming she was healing herself through holistic methods.
She launched a wellness app named The Whole Pantry and penned a related book, purporting to aid those with real terminal diseases. She also promised that funds from her enterprise would go to charity; however, these donations never materialised.
In March 2015, following journalistic probes into Gibson’s alleged charitable contributions, it emerged that she had concocted her cancer tales, lied about her age, personal story, and background. The pivotal moment arrived during Belle Gibson’s revealing sit-down on Australia’s 60 Minutes with journalist Tara Brown.
What happened in Belle Gibson’s 60 Minutes Australia interview?
During what became an infamous television interrogation, Belle began by assuring the audience she would disclose the unabridged truth, claiming to have been “really transparent” about the whole affair. When questioned by Brown if she would confirm the honesty of her statements under oath, Gibson responded: “Absolutely”.
Recognising she had “nothing left to lose,” she conceded, “if that requires a stat dec then I’m comfortable with that.”
Nonetheless, the interview—labelled “extraordinary and confounding” by the presenter—consistently undermined the credibility of Gibson’s account.
When asked if she admitted to profiting from people’s trust and sympathy, she responded: “I didn’t trade in my story or in other people’s lives.”
Tara, pressing the issue while reading extracts from Belle’s book about her supposed self-cure with natural remedies, said: “But you didn’t have brain cancer,” to which Belle confessed: “No, I didn’t, 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 to be truthful about her age and her childhood. At the interview’s conclusion, Tara posed a straightforward question: “Belle, this is a really simple question, how old are you?” Belle hesitated, replying, “I believe that I’m 26,” revealing her difficulty in maintaining her fabricated narrative.
The host highlighted the serious impact of Belle’s deceit on families and individuals, including one family whose seven year old son Joshua had cancer and had befriended Belle. Accused of using their son’s symptoms to bolster her own lies, Belle was asked what apology she would offer them.
She stated: “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?”
The complete interview is available for viewing on YouTube.