14 DAY TRIAL // Wellness blogger Belle Gibson was one of the leading figures online in the wellness industry, following her 2009 revelation that she’d been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, which she had managed to survive and even cure with a strict diet of wholefoods.
On that claim and a history of lies about her health issues, all of them nonexistent, she built a business empire that included TV and media appearances, a book and a best-selling app that was also to be included on the famous Apple Watch.
It all came crumbling down in March this year, with Gibson’s full confession arriving in April.
60 Minutes gives fraud a new platform
The confession had Gibson oscillating between saying she deliberately deceived millions by preying on their worst fear (of dying or of losing a loved one to cancer) and trying to make it sound as if she didn’t even understand what she was doing.
Much like the gangsters in B-rated movies, she tried to go for the insanity plea, if you’ll allow the comparison: she claimed she didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t anymore, and hinted that she actually believed all the lies she told, so, in a way, she wasn’t actively trying to deceive people into buying whatever she was selling.
Needless to say, her interview failed to convince the very people she’d been misleading for years. Channel 9 will air a new interview with her on 60 Minutes, with the first preview for it promising them real, honest answers for a change.
However, there’s a rumor making the rounds that she was “indirectly” paid for the sit-down, so many of her former supporters are already saying on social media they will not watch the special because they refuse to continue putting money in her pocket, especially now that she’s been exposed as a complete and shameless fraud.
A long and complicated history of deceit
As noted above, Gibson first started getting attention in 2009, when she claimed she’d been defying doctors’ terminal cancer diagnosis with help from wholefoods. Her story changed many times through the years, and she even claimed at one point that she had cancer in many vital organs of her body, including the liver, the kidneys, the blood and her uterus.
Older claims from her were unearthed, speaking of other, very serious health issues. She claimed she had heart surgery and “died” on the table, among other things.
These stories vanished from the Internet the moment they drew more attention, which was understandable: by then, Gibson was already an “established” name in the industry.
In March, she tried to weasel her way out of the lies she’d told by claiming the cancer diagnosis had been given to her by fraudulent “doctors,” who weren’t even real doctors to begin with. She believed them nonetheless and not even considered getting an informed opinion when she was told she had only months to live.
Backed into a corner, she eventually admitted it had been a lie, all of it.