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The purpose of this post is to bring up a bigger issue of authenticity on social media, and hopefully remind that no matter what, there ARE people in wellness who are creating a big shift from the place of sincerity. This post is also a call for authenticity. Let’s be real.
Past few weeks have brought up a whole lot of stir about social media wellness celebrity Belle Gibson, a.k.a. @healing_belle on Instagram, whose claims about having cancer (and healing it through holistic living and healthy food), have turned out to be false. It started with Belle deleting thousands of posts from her Instagram account, and she has finally spoken out on the issue, claiming she never had cancer.
The 23-year-old entrepreneur, creator of award-winning The Whole Pantry app (recognized by Apple), and author (her cookbook came out earlier this year), is also being accused of never allocating 25% of her profits and solicited donations from followers to nominated charities.
I had a chance to spend some time to spend with Belle Gibson when she was visiting New York in June 2014 for an interview over a breakfast. She cheered me up to release my eBook and told me about her commitment to donating 25% of all profits to charity. I admit, just like her hundreds of thousands of followers, I felt inspired. When the news started breaking, I’ve gone from disbelief, to shock, to outrage and disappointment.
It pains me to know that someone’s in the wellness business just for the money and fame. But I do think that there are many bright, beautiful souls out there on a mission to make the world a healthier and happier place, the authentic way. And yes, I do want to believe that being truthful and on track with your life purposet and running a successful wellness business can go hand in hand.
This situation brings up a few important issues:
- Authenticity on social media. There’s nothing more important than being YOU and speaking the truth. Your truth. Not what’s expected from you.
- Blind trust in everything we see, hear and read about people we don’t even know. Always, always question what you read and use as guidance, especially when it comes to serious health-related choices.
- Making people way more important than they are. The Insta-celebrity thing is out of this world. We’re all just people, ok?
In the end, we all are only responsible for our own choices. So let’s set an example that will make us proud, even 10, 50 years later.
Important reads on this subject:
- Sarah Wilson’s “Diet doesn’t cure disease. And it’s irresponsible to say otherwise.”
- Vanellsa Lawrence’s “What we know about Belle Gibson” in Elle Australia
- Amy Crawford “This Is Why I’m Grateful to Belle Gibson”
- The Balanced Blonde “My Thoughts On The Belle Gibson Controversy”
p.s. if you haven’t seen the movie Kumare, I highly recommend it. It’s about a New Jersey guy who impersonated a fake guru and built a following of real people.
