As a gal who fell prey to the wellness gurus and banana-eating preachers of Instagram and YouTube in 2010, I was incredibly interested when I heard about Netflix’s upcoming series Apple Cider Vinegar starring Kaitlyn Dever as notable Australian scam artist Belle Gibson.
According to Netflix’s synopsis, Apple Cider Vinegar is a six-episode series set around “the birth of Instagram”. It follows two young women who endeavour to cure their life-threatening illnesses through health and wellness. Along the way, they create an audience and begin influencing people on a global level.
The catch? None of it is true.
The series was created by award-winning Australian writer Samantha Strauss, who also adapted Nine Perfect Strangers for the screen and wrote Dance Academy (!!!!!!).
“It’s really interesting to look at how media uses food as a weapon against us and how much we crave the nourishment, but how much of a privilege and how expensive it is to try to be well,” Strauss said, via Netflix Tudum.
Who is in Apple Cider Vinegar?
Apple Cider Vinegar has a pretty incredible cast chockablock with amazing Aussie actors.
However, the lead actor Kaitlyn Dever — who plays Belle — is actually American. After listening to her incredible Aussie accent in the trailer, I was shocked.
“Her accent work was extraordinary,” Strauss noted.
“It was a masterclass watching her and Jenny Kent, our accent coach.”
Alycia Debnam-Carey plays Milla Blake, another young woman who builds a platform by promoting the power of food to fight a cancer diagnosis.
Aisha Dee stars as Chanel, a friend of Milla’s who helps Belle to grow her business. They are joined by talented actors Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Ashley Zukerman, Susie Porter, Matt Nable and Mark Coles Smith — just to name a few.
Is Apple Cider Vinegar based on a true story?
According to the streamer, the upcoming drama is a “true-ish story based on a lie”. The plot is based on the book The Woman Who Fooled the World by Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano — the two journalists who broke the story of one of Australia’s most high-profile scammers, Belle Gibson.
If you haven’t heard the Belle Gibson lore, allow me to give you a rundown.
In the early 2010s, Belle was the it-girl of Instagram. Her following was based on the claims that she had used healthy eating and wellness techniques to cure herself of terminal brain cancer. With this knowledge, she launched an app called The Whole Pantry in 2013 which advocated for healthy eating. At the time, it was praised and voted Apple’s Best Food and Drink App of the year.
In 2014 she claimed that her cancer had spread to her blood, spleen, uterus and liver. However, she continued working under The Whole Pantry brand, even launching a cookbook. However, after reports that Belle had not given the profits of her book to charity as she had promised, journalists from The Age and The Australian dug deeper and eventually discovered compelling evidence which led to Belle admitting that she never really had cancer all along.
In 2017, she was fined $410,000 for falsely claiming she had cured herself of brain cancer through diet and alternative therapies.
Is there a trailer for Apple Cider Vinegar?
Yes, yes there is! It’s already got me buzzing for the upcoming drama.
When does Apple Cider Vinegar come out?
Although we don’t know the exact date that the upcoming series comes out, Netflix has said that it is “coming soon”.
Just tell us the date already, Netflix!!!! I need to mark in my calendar when to take a strategic sick day so I can skip work to watch it.
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