The Shocking Story Behind Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar Isn’t the One You Already Know

Grab your popcorn because the latest Netflix short series, Apple Cider Vinegar, brings the drama off the small screen to real life. The new show, starring Kaitlyn Dever, depicts a dramatized version of how Australian wellness blogger, Belle Gibson, falsely claimed to have cured her cancer diagnosis holistically, which ultimately catapulted her to fame. 

The salacious storyline is exactly what viewers expect. But the biggest shocker in the series is the appearance of a familiar character named Jordan, a blonde vegan inspired by our very own The Balanced Blonde Soul on Fire host, Jordan Younger. “There was a character without my permission, without even my knowledge, who was supposed to be me,” Younger reveals.

In this week’s episode, Younger addresses her previous friendship with Gibson and Netflix’s portrayal of that story and the holistic wellness space as a whole. She and her husband get honest about the moment she found out she was on the show and what she’s learned from the odd experience of having her image and likeness used in a scripted series without her permission or awareness. Younger says her biggest desire is to use her podcast to speak up for herself and the wellness industry. 

While the Apple Cider Vinegar series could have focused on Gibson’s real life story as a scammer and con-artist and her mental health condition, Munchausen syndrome, it instead skews toward “defamation on wellness and holistic healing,” Younger says. “It is a hit piece on wellness when really what it should have been portrayed as, was a hit piece on Belle Gibson, aka just a real story of her life.”

The Real-Life Connection

Younger is very open about her previous friendship with Gibson. The two first connected on social media and their friendship existed mostly through Instagram, texts, and phone calls. Gibson was a huge deal at a time when all wellness bloggers knew each other. She had an incredibly successful cookbook, a wellness brand called The Whole Pantry, and even an app on the Apple Store. She had 2.3 million followers on Instagram in 2013, which would equate to 50 million by today’s standards. Younger describes Gibson as “ahead of her time.” 

The two had a mostly digital friendship until 2013 when Gibson came to Australia to NYC where Younger was working. They met over dinner, and the next day, Gibson came to Younger’s event where she announced she was transitioning her brand from the Blonde Vegan to Balanced Blonde.

“I wrote about it, and I have pictures with Belle Gibson on my blog,” Younger says. Because I wrote that blog post 10 years ago, it remains a public post. So it was used without my permission or my knowledge in the TV show to write scenes.”

Gibson and Younger took photos together, but little did Younger know that would be the last time they saw each other. Gibson went back to Australia and about a year later the scandal broke out.

The Unraveling

When rumors first broke out that Gibson’s brain cancer diagnosis was fake, Younger didn’t want to believe it. Then, Gibson’s family came forward, exposing her as a fraud. The charities she claimed to support revealed they had not received a cent. 

“It was a huge scandal,” Younger says. “Belle Gibson wasn’t even her real name.” 

Gibson did a final, devastating interview on 60 Minutes where she couldn’t confirm basic facts about her condition or age. “That was the worst, craziest interview I’ve ever seen in my life,” Younger recalls.

According to Younger, no one in the wellness space has heard from Gibson since. They never spoke again. It’s rumored that Gibson moved to a different part of Australia and changed her identity.

Finding Out About the Netflix Series

Younger and her husband first heard about Apple Cider Vinegar while they were hanging out at home and putting their kids to bed. Younger’s phone flooded with messages asking about the show. Her friends were saying things like, “You’re going to hate this show. This is like propaganda. This is propaganda against wellness.” Of course, the first thing they did was binge watch the show.

While she received thousands of messages of support, Younger did receive a few critics saying, “Girl, don’t make this about you. It’s not about you. The show’s not about you. Move on.”

“But imagine seeing yourself portrayed on Netflix by an actress without your permission. It’s like Black Mirror,” Younger explains.

Misinformation About Holistic Health

For Younger, the show’s greatest flaw is its broad attack on holistic health rather than focusing on Gibson’s specific deception. “Making this TV show a hit piece on holistic healing for cancer was extremely irresponsible. Unfortunately, it is in line with everything that the mainstream media desperately is trying to do and grasping at straws to put into the world,” Younger says. 

“They really made holistic healing for cancer specifically look like a very dangerous, misinformed, and poor decision. We all know in this community that it’s not.”

When faced with a diagnosis, Younger advises listeners to try both Western medicine and modern medicine, while also introducing holistic alternatives like stem cells, hyperbaric chamber treatment, ozone therapy, juicing, and Gerson therapy. She also says it is important to listen to your intuition. 

“I’ve seen people heal holistically a hundred percent. I’ve also seen people heal with the Western medicine model a hundred percent. And I’ve seen people, unfortunately, not heal both ways as well.”

Younger’s biggest message is: “What Belle did was dangerous. What she did was illegal. It was terrible. But holistic healing is not a dangerous thing.”

For more, listen to this week’s episode of The Balanced Blonde Soul on Fire.