Over a decade ago, Chanelle McAuliffe called Belle Gibson‘s bluff. After noticing that Belle’s story — you know, the one where she claimed she healed herself from terminal cancer through whole foods and natural therapies — didn’t quite add up, Chanelle went to the press. She became the whistleblower who alerted journalists Nick Toscano and Beau Donnelly of Belle’s fraudulent ways, ultimately giving the cancer fraudster’s precarious Jenga tower of lies the push it needed to come crumbling down.
Earlier this month, the shocking story of Belle Gibson’s scam found its way into the spotlight yet again thanks to a dramatised and fictionalised retelling in the Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar. Upon its release, the series found its way into the top 10 shows on the streaming site, introducing the world to Belle and the devastating impact her lies had on charities, vulnerable people and society at large.
Now, as audiences connect the dots between fact and fiction, the people and families of those depicted in Apple Cider Vinegar — like Chanelle — have shared that they were not involved in its creation. Nor were they happy with the creative licence used to develop their characters.
One of the biggest variations on the truth was seen in the character of Milla Blake, a young woman diagnosed with a rare cancer at just 22 years old. In the series, we see her shun conventional medicine and focus on Gerson therapy, an unsupported alternative therapy to treat cancer. In doing so, she decided to share her journey online, becoming one of the first wellness influencers Australia had ever seen. Apple Cider Vinegar paints Milla as Belle’s adversary and rival, and we see the two jousting for relevance in the alternative wellness space throughout the series.
Although director and creator Samantha Strauss told PEDESTRIAN.TV that characters in the show “drew inspiration from a number of real people” and that Milla was an “amalgamation of a few wellness influencers”, she also claimed that Milla’s story was mostly “someone we crafted in the writing room” and “her own fictional character”.
However, Milla’s character bears distinct similarities to a woman named Jessica Ainscough who passed away in 2015. From her origins as a young writer starting in magazines, the rare type of cancer, Gerson therapy and her mother tragically passing from cancer after also pursuing alternative therapies, the similarities are uncanny.
According to Chanelle, Apple Cider Vinegar exploits Jessica’s story despite not using her real name in its depiction.
“Jess and her family, have been unjustly villainized in the show,” Chanelle explains to PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“I get that she made herself a public figure and shared her controversial cancer journey. But the way she’s been villainized, especially when she’s not here to speak about it or defend herself, is not right.”
In an interview with The Australian, Jessica’s former partner Tallon Pamenter stated that the depiction of her within Milla’s character was vastly incorrect.
“The idea that the character of Milla is based on Jess is just plain ridiculous and offensive,” he said.
“It’s a falsified dramatic fictional portrayal — which isn’t surprising, considering none of us were ever consulted or referenced for information or fact-checking.”
He also claimed that Jess barely knew Gibson and was “completely unaware at her time of death that Belle was a fake”, despite the storyline depicted in the series.
How does Chanelle feel about her own depiction in Apple Cider Vinegar?
For Chanelle — who found out about the drama series while shooting an upcoming documentary about her experience — her own portrayal was a bit of a relief.
“To be honest, I was relieved that most of it was accurate, in terms of what I did in the show,” she said, noting that Aisha Dee‘s characterisation captured the emotions she actually felt during the whirlwind scenario. “There were just little nuances that weren’t correct.”
In Apple Cider Vinegar, Chanelle is depicted as a close, personal friend of Milla who eventually acts as both Milla and Belle’s manager. In reality, Chanelle was never their manager. And while she loosely knew Jessica Ainscough while she was growing up, and attended her memorial, they were not close friends.
Despite being generally okay with her own depiction, Chanelle admits the series has dredged up a lot of feelings for her, and those who lived through it.
“It’s very surreal,” she said.
“It’s 10 years later and I’ve dealt with a lot of my anger and moved on. I will never be able to forgive Belle. Truthfully I feel a bit burnt out by having to now watch the world erupt into anger when I’ve done so much work to move past this and heal.”
Although Chanelle doesn’t see forgiveness to Belle in her future, she does wonder whether there is any benefit to more public hatred going her way.
“For 10 years, Belle has essentially had a public stoning, and yet, there still haven’t been full consequences for her actions.
“While she hasn’t taken enough accountability or given closure to those who need it, I think there could be an opportunity for her to make things right. I hope Belle can stop repeating a pattern and eventually, one day, she can move forward with her life.”
So, where do we go from here?
Since seeing her story propelled back into the spotlight, Chanelle has had a lot of feelings, albeit, confusing ones. On one hand, she’s relieved to discover that the serious nature of misinformation and true devastation of Belle’s scam has not been lost on audiences. However, on the other, she wonders whether there is an ethical way forward for dramatised reimaginings of stories that don’t hurt those involved.
“I’m trying to look at this objectively and not be biased,” Chanelle explains.
“But I think it’s really interesting to reflect on the responsibility of ethical storytelling when it comes to entertainment. Where is the boundary of taking a deceased person’s story for creative licence and profit?
“How much [money] has been made from all of this? Is any going to the victims or any of the charities that were impacted?”
In sharing her side of the story, Chanelle questions how the entertainment industry — and we, as consumers — can do better to create and consume real-life content in an ethical way moving forward.
After all, there’s no denying Belle’s story of fraud, scams and absolute delusion is fascinating. And, in an era where dramatised depictions of real-life stories are on the rise (just look at Ryan Murphy‘s IMDb, if you need proof), Belle’s story fits the bill perfectly.
Ultimately, it’s naive to think that these fictionalised retellings have no consequences in the present day. In this case, Apple Cider Vinegar is an incredibly entertaining show and I understand why it’s captivating audiences around the world but I think as audiences we need to do our due diligence to understand the line between fact and fiction before reaching final conclusions — even if that means spending half an hour on Google rather than TikTok.
The post Belle Gibson Whistleblower Chanelle McAuliffe On Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar: ‘Where Is The Boundary?’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
