The mother of a health blogger who admitted her claims of having cancer were untrue has defended her daughter’s actions, arguing that people are allowed to “tell little porky pies”.
Australian health and wellbeing blogger Belle Gibson gained a large online following and was due to release a Whole Pantry app and a book on the basis that she had treated her own terminal cancer by shunning medical treatments in place of a healthy diet and alternative therapies. She encouraged readers to lead healthier lives to beat cancer, rather than accepting medical treatment.
It was revealed earlier this year however that Gibson had never been diagnosed with cancer.
Her mother, Natalie Dal-Bello, has now defended her daughter’s actions in an interview with The Herald Sun. She said: “Belle told a white lie, aged 23-and-a-half. So what?
“Belle is allowed to tell little porky pies. Who the hell doesn’t tell a lie in their life? Nobody complained about Belle when she was helping people and now they want to put her under the microscope.”
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The revelations that Gibson had never had cancer came to light when it was revealed that she had never made thousands of dollars’ worth of charitable donations which she had pledged from the proceeds of her book.
When challenged by journalists, she refused to provide proof of her diagnosis. The Australian later revealed that she had never been diagnosed with cancer.
The blogger’s Whole Pantry app was removed from the app store and her book has been pulped in light of the revelations.
Gibson has asserted that she was wrongly diagnosed with cancer by an alternative medicine practitioner and did not wish to deliberately mislead people. In an interview with journalist Tara Brown on 9 News' 60 minutes, she said: "I'm not trying to get away with anything."
