Netflix blasted for 'giving airtime' to cancer-faking influencer - complaining streamer is 'glamourising scammers' and 'giving them the ick'
- READ MORE: Belle Gibson: Cancer fraudster's partner Clive Rothwell ditches her for another woman - as Netflix series about her life is set to expose her sick scam
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Netflix has been blasted for 'giving airtime' to a cancer-faking influencer with their new series Apple Cider Vinegar.
Fans of the streamer have complained that the show is 'glamourising scammers' and 'giving them the ick.'
Fraudster Belle Gibson, now 33, claimed she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer at the age of 20 and given just months to live.
She later launched an Instagram account stating that she had cured the disease by healthy eating after other traditional treatments failed. She also fraudulently alleged that she had donated $300,000 to charity.
Set during the early days of Instagram, Apple Cider Vinegar follows two young women who set out to cure their life-threatening illnesses through health and wellness, influencing their global online communities along the way.
Netflix has been blasted for 'giving airtime' to a cancer-faking influencer with their new series Apple Cider Vinegar
Fraudster Belle Gibson, now 33, claimed she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer at the age of 20 and given just months to live (pictured in 2019)
Sharing their thoughts on Netflix's Facebook page, people wrote: 'As a person living with a brain tumour, I think that the premise of the movie is horrible!';
'Real people who fake brain tumours. I worked with one of these people. Horrible and sad to glorify such a thing!'; 'This is horrendous. Netflix is craping the barrel lately';
'As someone who has been living with multiple life limiting illnesses for most of my life, I think it's disgusting that any more publicity is being given to that oxygen thief Belle Gibson'; 'There's so many great Australian true life stories waiting to be told, & this is what Netflix decides to make??'
On Tuesday Netflix unveiled the first look trailer of American actress Kaitlyn Dever as Aussie cancer fraudster Belle Gibson in Apple Cider Vinegar.
The actress, 26, has scored the leading role in the six-part series set to provide a never-before-seen look into Belle's life. All of which would be incredibly inspiring - were it only true.
The trailer begins with Belle looking worried as she sits opposite her lawyer who asks for her side of the story.
The trailer then showcases the efforts she went to con her followers about her condition - with Arizona native Dever adopting a convincing Australian accent for the role as the Melbourne-born conwoman.
Kaitlyn is already a well-known star in the States, having appeared in Booksmart and the Emmy-winning Hulu drama Dopesick.
Set during the early days of Instagram, Apple Cider Vinegar follows two young women who set out to cure their life-threatening illnesses through health and wellness
Fans of the streamer have complained that the show is 'glamourising scammers' and 'giving them the ick'
Gibson, now 33, once claimed she had terminal brain cancer which was cured by simply eating healthy food - but it was later discovered she never had the disease.
Her shameless lie became a cause célèbre in Australia, and the story of 'Healing Belle' will soon be told around the world.
In 2013, Belle Gibson launched the @healing_belle Instagram account where she gained a large following through sharing so-called 'healing' food recipes.
She claimed her lifestyle and healthy eating plan had 'cured' her inoperable brain cancer, which she had supposedly been diagnosed with at the age of 20 and given just months to live.
Belle claimed she had undergone conventional cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, before abandoning modern medicine to follow a program of clean-eating instead.
Before long the deals began to roll in, with Gibson launching an app full of recipes as well as a book deal, reportedly worth $420,000.
Describing her plant-based diet in her book, she said: 'I was empowering myself to save my own life through nutrition, patience, determination and love.'
However, in 2014, the Melbourne-based personality claimed that despite her new wellness-focused lifestyle, her cancer had returned, and this time it had spread.
While many fans were devastated by the news, suspicions were soon raised about the money she claimed to have donated to various charities from the proceeds of her book.
Following an investigation by Fairfax Media, now Nine Newspapers, it was discovered none of the charities Belle had named had received a cent from her.
On Tuesday Netflix unveiled the first look trailer of American actress Kaitlyn Dever as Aussie cancer fraudster Belle Gibson in Apple Cider Vinegar (Dever, left, Gibson, right)
The trailer begins with Dever (Gibson) looking worried as she sits opposite of her lawyer who asks for her side of the story
Belle claimed she had undergone conventional cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, before abandoning modern medicine to follow a program of clean-eating instead
The influencer's story quickly began to unravel, and in April 2015 she was forced to admit she had lied.
In an interview with The Australian Women's Weekly, she finally came clean about her cancer con and said, 'No… none of it's true,' before adding she hoped people would forgive her and see she was only 'human'.
She also appeared in a trainwreck interview on 60 Minutes, where she was grilled about her many falsehoods by reporter Tara Brown.
Two years after her admission, Belle was fined around $410,000 after being found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct.
The former wellness blogger later adopted the 'Oromo' ethnic group in Melbourne, even taking to wearing a headscarf and naming herself 'Sabontu'.
In 2021, Daily Mail Australia revealed how she claimed to have been adopted by the community, had been 'blessed by Allah', and was even saying 'my name is Sobantu' in the native Afaan Oromo language.
Ethiopian community sources told Daily Mail Australia that Gibson had attended BBQs, weddings and community meetings to ingratiate herself with the Oromo ethnic group.
But alarm bells began to ring when the fraudster started talking about wanting to 'raise large amounts of money' for the ethnic group.
After Daily Mail Australia exposed her new connections to Melbourne's Ethiopian set, a leading member of the community revealed she had been frozen out forever.
Dr Tarekegn Chimdi, president of the Australian Oromo Community Association in Victoria, said: 'She was was told not to come.
The former wellness blogger later adopted the 'Oromo' ethnic group in Melbourne, even taking to wearing a headscarf and naming herself 'Sabontu'
A beaming Belle posed with a friend during an Oromo community event
'It was concerning when someone is using the community's name who is not a member of that community,' he continued.
'She was coming across as more Oromo than Oromo people.
'She is not involved with us. She's not coming to our place, no way, no time.
'She is not involved in any fundraising for us. I have not seen her since that happened.'
However, other members of the Oromo community threw their support behind the fraudster.
A Shabo Media spokesman said Gibson had 'changed a lot' and was 'trying to move on' from the scandal.
'She's part of the community, she's into it - she's trying to help out the community. We know what she's done before,' they said.
