Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar introduces the true story of wellness guru Belle Gibson, who lied about having cancer.
The limited series, which premieres on February 6, stars Kaitlyn Dever as Gibson, who launched a media empire after falsely claiming she was fighting cancer in her liver, blood and kidneys. After releasing her The Whole Pantry mobile app and companion book circa 2013, Gibson found herself under fire when fans questioned the inconsistencies in her story.
Gibson confirmed in 2015 that she lied about having cancer. “No. None of it’s true,” she told Australian Women‘s Weekly at the time. “I am still jumping between what I think I know and what is reality. I have lived it and I’m not really there yet.”
Apple Cider Vinegar also features Alycia Debnam-Carey as a character inspired by Jessica Ainscough, a fellowblogger who shared her personal story of using alternative cancer treatments before dying of her untreated cancer at the age of 29 in 2015.
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“What we’ve tried to do in this series is to show that none of these issues are entirely black and white — we wanted it to live in the grey zone,” creator Samantha Strauss told The Hollywood Reporter in November 2024. “It’s about showing what it’s like to be a young woman coping with the weightiest issues — life and death — but also staying open to the humor in the hardest moments.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar so far:
What Is the ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ Synopsis?
According to Netflix, Apple Cider Vinegar is set around the launch of Instagram and “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. All of which would be incredibly inspiring if it were all true.”
Apple Cider Vinegar is referred to as a “true-ish story based on a lie, about the rise and fall of a wellness empire — the culture that built it up and the people who tore it down.”
Who Else Stars in ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’?
In addition to Dever and Debnam-Carey, the cast includes Aisha Dee, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Ashley Zukerman, Mark Coles Smith, Susie Porter, Matt Nable, Phoenix Raei, Chai Hansen, Rick Davies, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Catherine McClements and Essie Davis.
Cobham-Hervey plays a woman struggling with cancer who gains hope through Belle’s Instagram feed, while Debnam-Carey’s character Milla is a young woman who launches a rival wellness platform after she’s diagnosed with sarcoma and thinks she can overcome her diagnosis with coffee enemas and a juice-heavy diet.
Who Inspired the Series?
Based on Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano‘s book The Woman Who Fooled the World, Apple Cider Vinegar centers around Gibson’s rise and fall after convincing the world she has cancer and was successfully curing herself with an all-natural lifestyle.
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When Is the Release Date?
The six-episode limited series premieres on February 6, 2025.
What Did the Trailer Reveal?
Netflix released an official trailer in January 2025 where Gibson plots to meet a popular blogger who actually has cancer. They subsequently become rivals and Blake’s friend Chanelle (Dee) is caught in between them before planning a way to expose Gibson for her lies.
Did the Real Belle Gibson Take Part in ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’?
Gibson has remained out of the public eye in recent years and didn’t appear to be involved in the production of Apple Cider Vinegar.
