Netflix takes on infamous Aussie story of Belle Gibson in Apple Cider Vinegar

Netflix has released the trailer for its limited series based on one of Australia’s most notorious scam artists, the infamous Belle Gibson.

The first trailer for a Netflix limited series based on the infamous Belle Gibson story has been released.

Gibson scammed almost half-a-million dollars off victims by falsely claiming to have healed her inoperable brain tumour through diet and alternative treatments.

She was convicted in 2017 of engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct and fined $410,000 for breaching consumer laws.

The first trailer for Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar has been released. Picture: Netflix.

Despite her claims, Gibson was never actually diagnosed with the malignant brain tumour that she shared with the world through social media, the mobile app she develops, and her cookbook.

Her wellness empire The Whole Pantry earned her $420,000 from the sales of her cookbook and app under the same name.

It wasn’t until she promised to donate thousands of dollars to charity that her lies started to unravel. In the end, she only ended up donating a paltry $6,000.

In March 2015, Fairfax Media grew suspicious of her claims and their investigations uncovered that the charities she had named did not received a cent.

The following month she admitted to Australia Women’s Weekly that she did not have cancer.

In 2017, a court found she had falsely claimed that proceeds from sales of her book and app The Whole Pantry, company earnings and a Mother’s Day event would be donated to charities or good causes.

The Federal Court in Melbourne heard she misled her readers and was banned from making deceptive claims about her health in connection with wellbeing advice. One of the most grievous acts was failing to donate 100 per cent of one week’s app sales, or $150,000, to the family of Joshua Schwarz, a boy who had an inoperable brain tumour.

Gibson was fined $410,000 in a civil case against Consumer Affairs Victoria.

The limited series was created by Australian writer Samantha Strauss, who is best known for her work on Prime’s Nine Perfect Strangers, which starred Nicole Kidman.

Belle Gibson was one of the most notorious scam artists in Australian history. Picture: Supplied.

Strauss was living in Melbourne during the peak of the real-life Gibson’s success.

“It’s really interesting to look at how media uses food as a weapon against us and how much we crave the nourishment, but how much of a privilege and how expensive it is to try to be well,” said Strauss.

“[With the title,] I wanted something that would capture this idea of hope in a bottle and that could be a bigger umbrella than something that would relate only to Belle,” explained Strauss.

While apple cider vinegar does have many genuine and effective uses, and ingesting it can have some health benefits, that doesn’t mean it can perform medical miracles, like curing cancer.

Apple Cider Vinegar is expected to be released sometime in early 2025.

Originally published as Netflix takes on infamous Aussie story of Belle Gibson in Apple Cider Vinegar