(Credit: Netflix)

Netflix has released its first trailer for a limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, that will be released next year. The series follows the infamous Belle Gibson and her controversial story about a health miracle.

Gibson was responsible for scamming almost $500,000 from people after falsely claiming that she had managed to cure a brain tumour which she had allegedly been told was inoperable by alternative healing methods. In 2017, she was convicted of misleading and deceptive conduct and fined $410,000 for violating consumer laws.

It wasn’t just that Gibson was misleading about the remedies she used to treat her ailment; despite her claims, Gibson was never actually diagnosed with a brain tumour to begin with. She told the world that she was via social media, another mobile app she was developing, and a cookbook she wrote.

She profited from her story, building a wellness empire called The Whole Pantry. Thanks to the sales of her cookbook and the money made from her app, The Whole Pantry earned around $420,000.

False promises about donating to charity ended up being her downfall. Gibson had announced that she would be donating money to charity, but after suspicions were already growing about some of her bold claims, Fairfax Media decided to dig a bit further into her empire. In doing so, they discovered that the charities she promised to donate to didn’t receive a cent from her.

As questioning began to arise, she admitted to Australia Women’s Weekly that she did not have cancer. Because of her false claims about donating money, she was ordered by the court to donate proceedings from her book and upcoming events to the charities to which she had previously promised to pay money.

A federal court found that she had misled her readers, not only because of her claims about wellness but also because she did not donate the money she promised. One of her most looked-down-on acts was failing to donate $150,000 to the family of Joshua Schwarz, who had an inoperable brain tumour. She ended up being fined a total of $410,000 in a civil case, which was almost everything she made from her app and book sales.

An Australian series about the controversial event is in its final stages. Samantha Strauss, whose previous credits include Nine Perfect Strangers, created it. “It’s really interesting to look at how media uses food as a weapon against us and how much we crave the nourishment,” said Strauss, “But how much of a privilege and how expensive it is to try to be well.”

The series title, Apple Cider Vinegar, is a homage to a modern health recommendation. Many people drink apple cider vinegar, and while it can have some health benefits, it isn’t a miracle worker.

The series will be released in early 2025.