Sandra Bullock Shares Rare Message Of “Concern” for Her Family and Fans Amid Social Media Scams
Get ready for the story of a wellness scam gone sour.
In the new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar, streaming Feb. 6, influencer Belle Gibson builds a media empire based on a lie that she had overcome a terminal brain cancer diagnosis through diet and lifestyle changes. And while she later admitted her cancer claims were false, the story of her meteoric rise and catastrophic downfall was, in fact, based on true events.
The Australian blogger (played by Kaitlyn Dever in the show) amassed a massive Instagram following amid the rise of social media in the early 2010s, leveraging her audience to launch an app called The Whole Pantry and release a cookbook by the same name. But inconsistencies in Gibson’s story began to emerge, with journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano reporting that she failed to pay organizations she purported to fundraise for in 2013, according to Forbes.
As more allegations hit the press, Gibson, 33, eventually owned up to her deception when asked if she ever actually had cancer.
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