As America braces for attacks on vaccine production and fluoridated water from a dude with a worm in his brain, it’s important to remember that these anti-science trends didn’t just fall out of a coconut tree, nor are they exclusive to America. Other countries have been dealing with the whole “wellness” epidemic right there with us. Australia, for example, had Belle Gibson, an influencer and pseudoscience shiller whose scams are being immortalized in Apple Cider Vinegar, an upcoming series from Netflix.
The basic structure of Gibson’s lie is laid out in the series’ first teaser, which Netflix released today. In the early 2010s, Gibson—played by Kaitlyn Dever—claimed that she was able to cure a malignant brain tumor through exercise, a natural diet, and yes, apple cider vinegar. If that sounds too good to be true, that’s because it obviously is. Gibson never had terminal cancer in the first place; she made the whole thing up to launch her wellness empire, mobile app, and companion cookbook. Still, that didn’t stop millions of people from buying into the desirable fiction.
“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,” creator Samantha Strauss (Nine Perfect Strangers) told Tudum of her inspiration for the series. “[With the title,] I wanted something that would capture this idea of hope in a bottle and that could be a bigger umbrella than something that would relate only to Belle.”
Like the “miracle cure” from which it takes its name, Apple Cider Vinegar is a work of fiction. While the show was inspired by The Woman Who Fooled the World, Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano’s book about the Gibson fiasco, Netflix writes that the series is “a true-ish story based on a lie… [in which] certain characters and events have been created or fictionalized.” Sounds like the series itself will also serve as a meta warning surrounding its central conceit: you can’t trust everything you see on the internet.
Apple Cider Vinegar also stars Alycia Debnam-Carey, Aisha Dee, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, and Mark Coles Smith. Netflix has not shared a release date as of this writing. Check out some first look images below:
Courtesy of Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix
