Annabelle “Belle” Gibson gained fame on Instagram by claiming she had discovered a way to manage her terminal cancer.

In a 2013 Instagram post, Gibson stated, “I have been healing a severe and malignant brain cancer for the past few years with natural medicine, Gerson therapy, and foods.” Surviving for four years after being diagnosed with a brain tumor and being told she had only weeks or months to live would have been miraculous. However, it turned out to be a scheme that enabled her to establish a wellness brand, which included her “Whole Pantry” cookbook in 2015 and a related app.

Cases of similar cancer fraud have led to various docuseries, such as ABC’s “Scamanda” (Thursdays, 9 EST/PST) and Peacock’s “Anatomy of Lies.” Netflix has now adapted Gibson’s deceit into a six-episode limited series titled “Apple Cider Vinegar” (now available for streaming). Creator Samantha Strauss first encountered Gibson during her “60 Minutes Australia” interview in 2015, where reporter Tara Brown implored Gibson to “just be honest.”

“It caught my attention that, from my point of view in the interview, she still didn’t want to admit that she had been lying when she had so patently been lying,” Strauss shared with YSL News. “The real Belle is different from the Belle (played by Kaitlyn Dever) we’ve created in the show. I’ve never met Belle, and we’ve never had a conversation. I used the facts of her life to create a character.” Each episode of “Apple Cider Vinegar” clarifies that it draws inspiration from true events, incorporating fictional characters and scenarios, and notes that the actual Belle did not profit from her narrative. Here’s how the dramatized version aligns with reality.

Is there a real-life Milla Blake?

In the series, Milla Blake (Alycia Debnam-Carey) initially represents everything Belle aspired to be. Milla gained fame and financial success by discussing her natural cancer treatment experiences.

Milla shares similarities with Jessica Ainscough, an Australian who documented her fight with epithelioid sarcoma after being diagnosed at 22 in 2008, which was the same age Milla was when her health issues were uncovered.

Known as the “Wellness Warrior,” Ainscough revealed in a 2012 YouTube interview that, like Milla, she underwent intensive chemotherapy, only for the cancer to return. Doctors suggested amputation of her arm and full-body chemotherapy, but warned that the treatment might not save her life. “Basically my case was terminal, and they told me I was probably going to be dead by about 25.” She resorted to Gerson Therapy, marketed as “a natural treatment that activates the body’s extraordinary ability to heal itself through an organic, plant-based diet, raw juices, coffee enemas, and natural supplements.” Ainscough tragically passed away in 2015 at the age of 29.

Strauss notes that Belle’s rival character is “inspired by many individuals, but ultimately is her own creation. I loved the idea of someone who was deceiving herself while Belle was deceiving everyone else.”

Lucy (Tilda Cobham-Hervey), who faces metastatic breast cancer, is a fictional character illustrating “the real-world repercussions of Belle’s actions,” according to Strauss.

Did Belle Gibson consult that sketchy doctor?

In the show, Belle brings her young son to a man posing as a doctor for his stomach issues. This man, who operates out of a warehouse, also examines Belle while she’s in her underwear. He applies a belt with electrodes to her head and tubes to her hands that supposedly provide “evidence” of “cluster” and “DNA damage” in her liver. “You’re sick,” he informs her, then tries to sell her a $10,000 machine purported to halt tumor growth.

This shocking and distressing scene is not far from a story Gibson relayed during her “60 Minutes Australia” interview. She recounted that in 2009, a doctor visited her home and ran tests using “a machine with lights on the front,” claiming to utilize “German technology.” By monitoring frequencies, it determined that Belle had a terminal brain tumor.

The real journalists who exposed Belle Gibson

As depicted in “Apple Cider Vinegar,” journalists Nick Toscano and Beau Donelly received a tip in 2015 suggesting Gibson might be a fraud. They discovered that many organizations she claimed to support financially had not received any donations, which led to their first story about Gibson. In the series, one journalist, Justin (Mark Coles Smith), is married to Lucy, a fictional character who encourages him to investigate Belle due to their link.

Toscano and Donelly later chronicled Gibson’s deceit in the book “The Woman Who Fooled the World.” They noted that, as shown in the series, a frantic Gibson contacted the organizations, providing proof of monetary transfers and blaming the discrepancies on cash flow problems.

In “Apple Cider Vinegar,” Belle raises money purportedly for a young man named Hunter to undergo surgery for his brain tumor. However, in reality, the funds never reached Hunter’s family. Gibson had raised money for Joshua Schwarz, diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2013 at just 5 years old. The Herald Sun reported in 2015 that Schwarz’s family was “blindsided” by Gibson’s fundraising efforts. Unlike in the show, she gathered money without informing the family and they never received anything.

Did Belle Gibson actually disrupt a funeral?

In the series finale, Belle shows up late to Milla’s funeral, standing out amid the mourning friends and relatives. When Milla’s fiancé dedicates a song to her with his guitar, Belle draws attention with her loud sobs.

In their book, Toscano and Donelly describe how Gibson caused a scene at Ainscough’s funeral, weeping “at times uncontrollably, and over the top of everyone else.”

One witness reported that it was “as if she were trying to demonstrate that she was more heartbroken than everyone else present,” similar to the series’ portrayal. This reaction seems excessive compared to their minimal interaction, which Ainscough’s manager, Yvette Luciano, described as merely “an Instagram comment or two.”