Netflix's Apple Cider Vinegar Nailed Belle Gibson's Real-Life 60 Minutes Interview

Warning: This Article Contains SPOILERS for Apple Cider Vinegar.The Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar has reignited public interest in the 2015 controversy surrounding the real-life Apple Cider Vinegar character Belle Gibson, particularly her infamous 60 Minutes Australia interview. This sit-down with Tara Brown became a crucial piece of the puzzle that fueled public outrage, offering a disturbing glimpse into Gibson's psychological justifications for her wellness scam in Netflix’s new crime drama.

The interview as portrayed in Apple Cider Vinegaris a picture-perfect setup of the original event, with the impeccable casting of Tara Brown (Sibylla Budd) in addition to Kaitlyn Dever's impressive performance as the disgraced influencer. From Gibson's claims of misdiagnosis to the hefty sum she received for her appearance, the interview remains one of the most shocking episodes of 60 Minutes.

The Real Belle Gibson Was Interviewed By 60 Minutes - How It Compares To Apple Cider Vinegar

The Scene Works Well As A Short Version Of The Sit-Down

Throughout Apple Cider Vinegar, viewers see a tumultuous professional relationship play out between Belle Gibson and her PR consultant. During this time, she has an interview disaster and ultimately fires her crisis manager feeling "burned" by the experience, before agreeing to do a long-form interview with 60 Minutes Australia. The result is a disturbing glimpse of her psychological reasoning around her wellness scam. In the sit-down interview, Belle Gibson is grilled by Tara Brown while continuing to dodge true accountability.

The infamous interview is portrayed in the final episode of the six-part Apple Cider Vinegar. It does not dramatize the full interview — rather, it is an accurate snapshot of how she responded overall. It correctly depicts how Belle reasoned her way out of truly apologizing for what she had done. She claims that she genuinely believed she had cancer, that this was the "reality" she was living in. She says that she was misinformed by a naturopath and thought her cancer diagnosis was real, suggesting she cannot be held accountable for deceiving her audience, which included people living with cancer.

Brown barely hides her impatience, while Gibson is sometimes emotive, but overall has a more disturbingly calm exterior.

The real interview shows a more openly exasperated Brown going more in-depth. She even asks Gibson to define in her own words what the terms "truth" and "lie" mean. When Belle discusses the supposed diagnosis she was living with, Tara challenges her circular logic by repeatedly pointing out that the naturopath's existence is questionable and that, regardless, she did not get a second opinion from an oncologist even after multiple diagnoses and feeling well. Brown barely hides her impatience, while Gibson is sometimes emotive, but overall has a more disturbingly calm exterior compared to Kaitlyn Dever's overtly manipulative performance.

How Much Belle Gibson Was Paid For Her 60 Minutes Interview

Belle Asking For A Hefty Sum In The Show Is Accurate

In Apple Cider Vinegar, Belle is shown discussing the interview fee for 60 Minutes.She is first offered a deposit but refuses to go ahead with the interview on that basis. Instead, she demands the full amount in her account upfront, or she would cancel the interview. She was paid a handsome sum of A$75,000. Within the "true-ish" Apple Cider Vinegar series based on a lie, this is a verified truth. According to The Guardian, documents from Consumer Affairs Victoria show Gibson was paid that exact amount for the exclusive interview.

Kaitlyn Dever biting her thumb as Belle in Apple Cider Vinegar

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The Consumer Affairs spokeswoman said the A$75,000 invoice from July 2015 was in an affidavit within the 1,500-page document cache submitted to the court. Gibson also earned over $420,000 selling her app and received an A$132,500 advance for her book. The amount of money she made on the back of her deception was spent lavishly, according to the same article:

"[...] payments for a BMW, spent hundreds on Uber rides, spent money on overseas travel, including a trip to San Francisco, and at the Apple iTunes store and eating out at cafes."

A Melbourne federal court found Gibson guilty of five counts of violating consumer law and, in September of that year, ordered her to pay A$410,000 to the state of Victoria for misleading claims about her charitable activities (per BBC). Gibson is yet to pay the courts.

What 60 Minutes' Tara Brown Has Said About Interviewing Belle Gibson

Tara Brown Did A Retrospective Episode On The Conversation

Since the release of the original interview, 60 Minuteshas followed up with a retrospective by Tara Brown. She sets the scene by reiterating that Gibson’s "line," as she terms it, is that she was misinformed and misdiagnosed and therefore acting in "good faith." Brown clarifies that "of course, that was not the truth." She also reflects that her role in the interview was to explore the possibility that Gibson has an illness that makes her lie compulsively while not being an authority, so there is an element of concern and compassion in her questioning for journalistic balance.

Even when generously speculating she simply got in too deep and did not think she was harming anybody, Belle doubles down on her innocence in Apple Cider Vinegar.

Brown also reveals that Gibson did not come clean until the team found medical records confirming she knew she was not sick, dismantling her key argument. In her retrospective on the interview, Brown admits that although she cannot pretend to know Gibson's inner thoughts, her personal opinion is that the influencer "doesn’t act like somebody who has remorse"about her harmful actions. Her incredulity in the interview is palpable; even when generously speculating she simply got in too deep and did not think she was harming anybody, Belle doubles down on her innocence in Apple Cider Vinegar.

Source: The Guardian, BBC, 60 Minutes