My thoughts on Apple Cider Vinegar – Netflix

I’ve been watching Apple Cider Vinegar – the Netflix series based on Belle Gibson’s life. It’s billed as a true story based on a lie”.

The series comes off the back of the book investigating Belle Gibson – The Woman who Fooled the World by two Age Journalists – Beau Donnelly and Nick Toscano. (They talk about the investigation here.)

Image: Apple Cider Vinegar poster from Netflix

Belle Gibson faked having cancer to build an online profile, and received a book deal  for The Whole Pantry and an app deal with Apple Watch.she claimed to have cured her cancer by eating whole foods alone, rejecting traditional medicine. She stole a lot of money from fundraisers and fooled a lot of cancer patients into following a similar regime to her. She lived a very glamorous life with the money she made and stole. Ten years on and she hasn’t faced any charges for her fraudulent behaviour or paid the money back. 

The series is so good. And it’s uncomfortable viewing at times. The lengths Belle Gibson went to deceive so many people – cancer patients and their families, publishers, Apple, her followers… disgraceful. She’s shown zero accountability.

It is the first show in a long time that I was compelled to watch and take in without looking at a second screen, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it or talking about it in the week since I finished watching. And everyone is talking about it.

The show was cast perfectly. Catherine McClements and Debra Lawrence popped up as familiar faces.

Kaitlyn Dever, who is an American actor, nailed the Aussie accent. She transformed into Belle seamlessly, down to the dental veneers.

Image: Kaitlyn Dever as Belle Gibson – a white woman wearing a pink roll neck sweater. Kaitlyn/Belle is a white woman.

My favourite, Callan Mulvey is in the show – for one episode. He plays a really dodgy “doctor” – the kind who prescribes snake oil.  It’s so strange seeing an actor I’ve admired for so long playing a character that behaves with such dangerous views.  

Another favourite, Aisha Dee, plays Chanelle, a whistleblowing friend who dobbed Belle in to the journalists.

Image: Aisha Dee at the Netflix premiere of Apple Cider Vinegar – Aisha is a woman of colour.

And I loved the dialogue, and also the look of the show. The soundtrack was great too. It was so interesting  how the fourth wall was broken in most episodes, with the characters reassuring the viewer that Belle Gibson was not paid for this series. I also liked that Belle’s child was never named – he was referred to as Bubby. I really hope Belle’s son is ok.

It’s been hard to watch as a cancer patient. Traditional medicine based treatment for me was really hard – my skin was the worst it’d ever been and my mental health was very low. Chemo especially. I can see how people choose alternative therapies. And I can see how easy it would be to fall for snake oil merchants, when you’re so desperate to survive. 

As a disabled person, I am angered by Belle’s behaviour . Disabled people are so often targeted by charlatans claiming to have a cure for disability- think essential oils, mystery tablets and even faith healers. We are often sold under the multilevel marketing pyramid. I’m a snakeoil salesman patient – my parents were both seeking a cure, and targeted when I was little. I drank Percy’s Powder – a brown slurry that tasted like muddy water; tried Chinese herbs and naturopathic medicine; and drank mangosteen juice. Still have Ichthyosis.   

There was a scene in the show that depicted disability as tragedy, a warning of choosing traditional medicine and amputation over alternative medicine. How great it would be to see more disabled role models depicted to aid this decision making.   

As a blogger, I’m enthralled watching this series. I love any media about blogging – this series is so well done. I remember that time when Belle Gibson was exposed well. I never met her, but knew some people who had worked with her or enjoyed her posts.

I still abide by the health blogging values that I wrote 10 years ago, when Belle was in the media. I don’t give medical advice. I state that this is my experience only. Most recently, I made a decision  not to name the chemo drugs I had because I didn’t want anyone who would potentially be prescribed them  being influenced by my experiences. I told my oncologist this, referencing Elle MacPherson and Belle Gibson, and she said that’s a wise and ethical idea. I’m aware of the following and influence I have. It’s one thing to influence someone into buying a brooch or trying to wear more colour, and it’s a whole ‘nother (dangerous) thing to suggest people don’t try a certain cancer drug because I found it hard.

Many years ago, I won a blogging award sponsored by an insurance company. Another winner was Jess Ainscough, a wellness blogger, who died from cancer after “treating” it with alternative therapies. She blogged about her wellness journey.  At the time, I profiled the other winners on my blog, and Jess was the only one who I didn’t hear back from. The character Milla in Apple Cider Vinegar is based on Jess. (Jess’s dad has since slammed the show, saying that the depiction of Jess was offensive.)

My only criticisms of the show is that I wanted to see more of the infamous 60 Minutes interview, and that the show seemed to end quite quickly – maybe leaving room for a second series, detailing her rather secret life since she was exposed? Maybe she will pay the money back?

I highly recommend Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix. I worry the wellness industry hasn’t changed a lot, and vulnerable people are being taken advantage of through multilevel marketing orgs like that “miracle” water filter company, and essential oils  – especially disabled people and young mums like Belle was. There’s so much misinformation about health online – it’s not regulated.

I still see people I know get tangled in this web – it’s alarming! As I’ve written above, and previously, I’ve personally been recommended all sorts of snake oil “cures” for my ichthyosis – the ableism in the wellness industry is insidious. The AI word salads, the promises of financial freedom and clean health – it’s all dazzling until the coffee enema poisons you. 

Apple Cider Vinegar is on Netflix now.

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