Disgraced wellness blogger Belle Gibson, who built an online community and sold a recipe book off the back of claims she cured terminal brain cancer through diet and lifestyle alone, has admitted she never had cancer.
“None of it’s true,” Gibson told the Australian Women’s Weekly in an interview to be published on Thursday.
“I don’t want forgiveness. I just think speaking out was the responsible thing to do. Above anything, I would like people to say, ‘OK, she’s human.’”
Gibson’s wellness empire, which included a mobile phone app called The Whole Pantry and a website and recipe book of the same name, began to fall apart in March when it was revealed she never made thousands of dollars in charity donations she promised off the back of money raised through her success.
Later that month, Gibson said she had been “wrongly” diagnosed with cancers she claimed to have in her blood, spleen, uterus and liver by a German magnetic therapist, but maintained her terminal brain cancer was real.
She refused to show journalists medical records or any proof to back her claims that by shunning conventional medicine, her brain cancer had been kept in check.
The Women’s Weekly interview is the first time Gibson has spoken to the media following questions being raised about her cancer claims.
“During the interviews, whenever challenged, Belle cried easily and muddled her words,” the Women’s Weekly reports.
“She says she is passionate about avoiding gluten, dairy and coffee, but doesn’t really understand how cancer works.”
When questions began to be asked about Gibson’s story last month, she experienced a swift backlash on social media, with many people who followed her saying they felt betrayed. She began deleting her social media accounts and blogposts about her various illnesses.
Many criticised Gibson for putting cancer sufferers in danger by suggesting dietary approaches alone could successfully treat them.
Delted app and investigation
Consumer Affairs Victoria is now investigating Gibson, while Penguin has ceased publishing her recipe book and the Apple store no longer offers her app for download.
In the interview, Gibson says she has an upcoming meeting with Penguin. However, Penguin communications manager Camilla Subeather told Guardian Australia on Thursday no such meeting had been arranged.
“We are disappointed that, despite several requests for clarification regarding recent allegations made against her, Belle is yet to respond to us directly,” she said.
“We have read with interest her recent interview and are considering our rights and options as set out in our agreement with her. We have no knowledge of the forthcoming meeting she refers to.”
News Ltd, which appears to have obtained a full copy of the Women’s Weekly interview ahead of publication, reports Gibson fails to explain fully why she lied, saying only that she had a difficult childhood.
Her false illness claims date back to 2009, when she claimed on an internet forum to have undergone multiple heart surgeries and to have died on the operating table.
In the days following the allegations against her, Gibson posted on social media that she was being bullied and had changed “thousands of lives for the better”.
Meanwhile, the media was criticised for running glowing articles about Gibson prior to the allegations coming to light without properly checking the facts of her story.
The Guardian