'Wellness Guru' Belle Gibson lied about having brain cancer, profited from lying about bogus cancer

[friendly_iconoclast]

http://boingboing.net/2015/04/22/wellness-guru-belle-gibson.html

'Wellness Guru' Belle Gibson lied about having brain cancer, profited from lying about bogus cancer cures

By Xeni Jardin

After journalists dug into her questionable cancer cure claims, "natural healing" huckster Belle Gibson has admitted she lied to her followers, her friends, her family, and vulnerable cancer patients about having cancer, and curing her cancer with food and woo.

The 23-year-old Australian bullshitted the entire world about having terminal brain cancer, and profited from her completely fictional story via her "natural wellness" app, The Whole Pantry. On her blog, she claims she cured her terminal brain cancer by avoiding gluten and sugar. Shocking, I know, but: this is not how cancer works.

Last month, Gibson failed to donate the $300K she promised from sales of her app to charity. Friends had (jesus, finally?) begun to question whether her cancer story might be made up. Police in Victoria said they would not pursue criminal charges against Gibson, but the internet seems ready to pursue its own version of justice: The Great Moment of Mass Shaming.

http://www.aww.com.au/latest-news/in-the-mag/belle-gibson-teaser-20269

In an exclusive interview in the May issue of The Australian Women's Weekly on sale today wellness advocate Belle Gibson admits her cancer diagnosis was not real...

...In a special investigation, The Weekly reveals the reality behind her cancer diagnosis, the current financial state of her business, The Whole Pantry - and her belief that she has been hard done by.

Gibson was asked outright if she has, or has ever had cancer.

“No. None of it’s true,” she confessed...

[trotsky]

1. Wow, what a surprise. n/t

[AlbertCat]

2. I hate the word "wellness"

I mean, is it a real word? It wasn't when I was growing up, but, y'know....


It's like "healthful". THAT is not a word. We already have an adjective form of the word "health" and it is "healthy".

[AlbertCat]

3. Has anyone asked her...

"How do you feel that cancer patients who believed you might have aggravated their disease, or died because they did not seek real cures?"

[LeftishBrit]

4. Ugh

[uriel1972]

5. There was a rush of acceptance...

by the media and publishing dealers, none of whom seemed to want to question the story until way too late.

The more I hear of her the more she seems to be a fantasist rather than a scam artist. Without the gushing aceptance of the media, publishers and others who should have been diligent, she would just be another fantasist living in their fairy-tale world.

Was she wrong to do what she did? Yes, of course, but she did not do it alone.