Facts

Australian Wellness Blogger And Cookbook Author Fined $321,000 For Cancer Hoax

judge Chris Ryan / istockphoto.com
Taylor Rock|

 

A wellness blogger and cookbook author is being fined for $321,440 after admitting she lied to her followers. Belle Gibson had claimed she cured multiple cancers with whole foods — but as it turns out, the Aussie was never sick to begin with. In a special investigation with The Australian Women's Weekly, the 28-year-old confessed that her cancer diagnosis was a complete fabrication. Oh, and she's also only 25 (she lied about her age, too).

"I don't want forgiveness," she told Women's Weekly. "I just think [speaking out] was the responsible thing to do. Above anything, I would like people to say, 'Okay, she's human.'"

Gibson rose to fame in 2013 when she announced that she had been healing terminal brain cancer with clean eating after being given just months to live. She gained millions of followers on social media, and her app, "The Whole Pantry," and book by the same name became best sellers. Gibson vowed to donate $300,000 of her earnings to charity, which turned out to be untrue.

Her story began to fall apart in 2015 when it was revealed she'd never made the thousands of dollars in promised donations. A report by The Sydney Morning Herald raised concerns about where those funds were really going: designer clothes, $2,000 handbags, first-class international travel, a luxury beachside apartment, and a BMW.

According to The Guardian, a federal court justice in Melbourne has ordered Gibson to pay the $321,440 penalty. The judge also mentioned that if Gibson were able to pay the penalties, it might be possible that "some or all of the funds can be donated to some or all of the organizations, and people, Ms. Gibson had promised would receive donations."

In addition to what you may or may not have read in The Whole Pantry, here are 10 dieting myths you have to stop believing.

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