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Belle Gibson exposed as a fraud MERGED


Lucygoosey

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Belle Gibson, an Aussie woman who claimed to have "healed" from terminal brain cancer using diet and other alternative methods, is apparently a fraud:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-10/c ... ry/6295426

http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/0 ... lle-gibson

Unlike her fellow Aussie Jess Ainscough, who really did have cancer and almost certainly hastened her death by rejecting conventional medicine, Gibson's story appears to have been made up all along.

I'm really steamed about this. How many genuinely sick people followed her advice and jeapordized their health as a result? She also made a lot of money off of her website, book deal and app and didn't give a penny to charity like she promised.

Apparently the police have paid a visit to her residence. I hope she ends up being prosecuted for what she did. I don't care if she's got a mental disorder.

I feel sorry for her son and all the people who believed her lies.

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I read that today too. What a scammer! And obviously doesn't even care about the potential consequences of people following her "treatments" and then dying as a result. I hope they throw the book at her. Maybe a pile of her cookbooks. Then she could magically heal her fractures with tofu and quinoa.

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I hadn't heard of her, but that's probably because I'm in the U.S. According to the articles, that app is really popular. What did people find helpful about it? (other than its ability to ward off illness, of course) Did it help people choose healthy food?

$300K is a lot of money to stiff charities. That's more than just a little accounting error. Also, she was diagnosed by Dr. Phil? I think I'd bother to get my physician's last name. Dr. Phil is a talk show host in the U.S., so that's sounds amusing to me.

As far as misleading other people goes, con artists are everywhere. From MLMs that make outlandish promises to fake psychics to bogus faith healers. It always saddens me that people are so gullible. I'm especially thinking of the poor people who died in James Arthur Ray's sweat lodge vision quest experience. He went to prison for what he did. It will be interesting to see what repercussions Ms. Gibson gets.

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I know I'm not the only sceptic on FJ who rolls their eyes when a Fundie starts selling essential oils or claiming to treat their cancer with vitamins and juice.

Well someone who claimed to treat her terminal brain cancer with just that has been found a fake. She also claimed to donate money from her ap to charities. Not so much. She does travel to exotic places, drive a BMW and wear designer clothes though

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digi ... 401rr.html

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  • 4 years later...

I just finished reading the book written about the Belle Gibson saga this week (somewhat amusingly the copy I borrowed from the library had been heavily annotated by someone who was either her biggest supporter or quite possibly by her. The annotations were very "why are people picking on this poor single mother who just published a cookbook".) 

Since 2015 she has been convicted of numerous breaches of consumer law and fined $A410,000.  She is now being chased by Consumer Affairs Victoria over her non-payment of that fine, and her house was raided this week as part of asset seizures. And then this week she claimed to have been adopted by the Ethiopian community in Melbourne.  You know of all the ways this saga could have gone I did not expect that one. The Ethiopian community's response was pretty much "wait, that's who this woman is?! Yeah, nah."

In case anyone is wondering why she was convicted under consumer law rather than criminal law it was mostly so they could also fine Penguin books ($30,000) for lack of due diligence in making published health claims, and force them to include a warning on any similar books saying that all health claims were unproven. I imagine other large publishers have taken the hint - which is what CAV wanted as an outcome. Won't stop them chasing her for the fine money though.

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Having recently lost my only sister to brain cancer,  FUCK BELLE GIBSON!  It's totally unconscionable  to claim that your brain cancer was cured through diet and woo.  Conventional medicine may not yet be able to cure many brain cancers, but they are making strides.  My sister lived three years after she was diagnosed when the average survival time is thirteen months post diagnosis.  That was two extra years that she got to spend with her kids, grandkids, husband, siblings and friends and we with her.

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4 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

Having recently lost my only sister to brain cancer,  FUCK BELLE GIBSON!  It's totally unconscionable  to claim that your brain cancer was cured through diet and woo.

The book went into the treatment and current survival rates of people diagnosed with various types of brain tumours, and interviewed quite a few people who had either been diagnosed or who had lost people to brain tumours. It made the point very effectively that the blind acceptance and promotion of people like Gibson by large publishing houses and companies like Apple should never have happened - if they had asked even a few questions it would have been obvious that her story didn't hold up. The promotion of people like Gibson and Ainscough can really harm people who are desperate - one reason I'm glad the Sheriff's Office and Consumer Affairs are continuing to pursue her for the fine. 

And I am so sorry about your sister, and glad she had the extra time with her family. Fuck cancer.

Edited by Ozlsn
I can never remember the Wellness Warrior woman's name correctly
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Belle Gibson really perplexes me!  Why does she keep lying and thinking that people will believe her?  The only answer that I can come up with is that she is seriously delusional.  She claims to have no money and yet can go on holidays.  She says she doesn't know where money comes from into her bank account?  Why does she think it's a good idea to keep up a public profile by speaking on behalf of the Ethiopian community?

Seriously - sell everything, pay the fine, make an apology, get some help, change your name, take some courses to get a nice quiet job somewhere and disappear!!!  

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17 minutes ago, Whydon'ttheyspeakintongues said:

The only answer that I can come up with is that she is seriously delusional. 

She comes across to me as having some kind of personality disorder - she appears incapable of just telling the truth and admitting reality. The 60 minutes interview she did is fascinating to watch (and a bit disturbing) - she tries to construct a new narrative and is just torn down.

As to the whole Ethiopian thing... that is utterly bizarre. 

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On 1/29/2020 at 9:42 AM, Ozlsn said:

She comes across to me as having some kind of personality disorder - she appears incapable of just telling the truth and admitting reality. The 60 minutes interview she did is fascinating to watch (and a bit disturbing) - she tries to construct a new narrative and is just torn down.

As to the whole Ethiopian thing... that is utterly bizarre. 

I watched that interview on YouTube she was even lying about her age and then acted she was misled about her age. She deserved jail time for her fraud. 

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3 hours ago, Glasgowghirl said:

I watched that interview on YouTube she was even lying about her age and then acted she was misled about her age. She deserved jail time for her fraud. 

The main reason they decided against a criminal prosecution was to go after Penguin books. I understand why in terms of longer term impact - a lot of publishers and media got a lot more careful/skeptical after that but yeah I wouldn't have minded some additional penalties. The way she's going with the non-payment of fines though she may well end up in jail.  

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Although I'm Australian I hadn't heard of this individual, which is fortunate since I did hear about a few similar sorts of people a few years back when my mum tried to talk me out of having chemo.

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On 2/5/2020 at 6:12 PM, Ozlsn said:

The main reason they decided against a criminal prosecution was to go after Penguin books. I understand why in terms of longer term impact - a lot of publishers and media got a lot more careful/skeptical after that but yeah I wouldn't have minded some additional penalties. The way she's going with the non-payment of fines though she may well end up in jail.  

It's mind boggling that publishers and other media didn't check out her story - especially given how unbelievable it sounds.  There's quacks everywhere - but to give them air time and promote them is another thing entirely.  All they had to do was ask for some medical records and it would have been obvious that there weren't any.

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