'Whole Pantry' health blogger admits to faking cancer she claimed to cure

Belle Gibson lied about curing cancer through diet — (Image credit: Twitter/@people)

Belle Gibson, a writer who documented her successful battle against terminal brain cancer though a combination of diet and alternative medicine, now says she never had cancer. "None of it's true," Gibson, 23, told The Australian Women's Weekly magazine. "I am still jumping between what I think I know and what is reality."

In her popular blog, The Whole Pantry, and the cookbook deal and app that resulted from it, Belle advocates eating whole foods, avoiding dairy, gluten, and coffee, and gives "wellness" tips. It was her fame-catching claim in 2013 about curing her cancer, despite being given only months to live, that got her in trouble. Her publisher, Penguin, pulled her book in March when questions started arising about her claim. Apple pulled her app.

"I don't want forgiveness," Gibson told The Weekly, in its May issue. "I just think [speaking out] was the responsible thing to do. Above anything, I would like people to say, 'Okay, she's human.'"

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.