Everything you didn’t know about THAT Belle Gibson TV interview: Channel Nine paid the convicted fraudster huge amount to appear on 60 Minutes
Belle Gibson was paid a huge amount for her bombshell 2015 interview on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes.
The con artist, whose story has been thrust back into the spotlight with a Netflix dramatisation, was reportedly paid $75,000 to sit down with journalist Tara Brown.
According to The Australian‘s Media Diary, Gibson’s payment was not mentioned in the 60 Minutes special that aired on Monday night.
Age journalists Nick Toscano and Beau Donelly, who were the first to expose her failure to make a promised donation to charity, appeared on the program.
Toscano, a business writer at Melbourne’s The Age newspaper, and his former colleague Donelly revealed she was not all she seemed on March 8, 2015, when they exposed her failure to make a promised $300,000 donation to charity.
However, it was another journalist, Richard Guilliatt, who broke the real story when he exposed the truth about her false cancer claims just two days later on March 10 in rival newspaper, The Australian.
Belle Gibson (pictured on 60 Minutes) was paid a huge amount for her bombshell 2015 interview on Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes
The bestselling author was shortlisted for a coveted Walkley Award for All Media Scoop of the Year for his startling ‘Belle Gibson Exposed’ revelations later that year.
Gibson rose to prominence in 2012 as a self-proclaimed health guru who had ‘cured’ her own brain cancer through healthy eating, clean living and ‘positive thinking.’
Within a year, her inspirational Instagram account @healing_belle had amassed thousands of followers, many of them hopeful cancer sufferers, who would go on to download her wellness app, The Whole Pantry, and buy her cookbook of the same name.
Throughout it all, Gibson claimed her earnings – reportedly more than $1 million – would be donated to various cancer charities.
But there was just one big problem: Gibson never had cancer, and eventually, her empire came crashing down after two Australian journalists discovered she had been lying about it all – not just her disease, but her philanthropy too.
The tale of the wellness scammer is now reaching a global audience thanks to Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar, a six-part series starring Kaitlyn Dever as Gibson and Alycia Debnam-Carey as Milla, another cancer influencer who actually had the disease.
Despite swindling millions, Gibson never faced any jail time.
After a drawn-out case in the Federal Court of Australia, she was ordered to pay AU$410,000 (US$257,000) for her false claims of charitable donations.
The con artist, whose story has been thrust back into the spotlight with a Netflix dramatisation, was reportedly paid $75,000 to sit down with journalist Tara Brown
Combined with her legal fees, she faced a total payout of about half a million dollars (US$313,000).
Eight years on, she has not paid that fine.
Instead, despite her eye-watering debts, she appears to be living a relatively normal life as a suburban single mother in Melbourne.
Since Apple Cider Vinegar launched on the streamer on February 6, many viewers have expressed their shock over Gibson’s apparent lack of punishment.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one demanded: ‘What do you mean Belle Gibson didn’t get any jail time? WTF!!’
‘After watching and reading please explain to me how the hell is Belle Gibson not in prison,’ another wrote.
‘If there is any hope left for humanity make her pay the fines and put her in jail, like seriously.’
Echoing a similar sentiment, a third continued: ‘The question is why is Bella Gibson not in jail?!’
In 2014, the Melbourne-based personality claimed that despite her new wellness-focused lifestyle, her cancer had returned, and this time it had spread
‘This woman’s need for external validation drove her up a wall – like girl, why you not in jail right now!!!’ continued a fourth.
A fifth said: ‘Some people can lie lie oh my goodness. She should have been sent to jail. The lies the lies the lies.’
‘Just finished Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix and holy s**t Belle Gibson should be in JAIL!!!! Throw away the keeeyyyyy,’ added a sixth.
Despite sparking fierce criticism about Gibson’s lack of punishment, Apple Cider Vinegar has received rave reviews from fans.
Taking to X, one said: ‘#NowWatching #AppleCiderVinegar on Netflix… so triggering, so intriguing, so entertaining. I’m hooked.’
Others simply spoke highly of the show, one said: ‘Apple Cider Vinegar on Netflix is good.’
Another chimed in: ‘Apple cider vinegar on Netflix is such a good show!! 100 percent recommend!!!!’
