If there’s one thing we learnt from Belle Gibson’s court appearance on Tuesday, it’s that she sure is forgetful.
We’re not talking “I accidentally left my lunch at home” forgetful, we’re talking “I can’t remember why I borrowed $90,000 from my ‘friend’ Clive” forgetful.
Which for a woman with a $410,000 fine hanging over her head and reportedly relies on Centrelink, feels… curious.
Very curious.
The Quicky talks to The Age reporter, Tom Cowie, who was in the court on Tuesday. Post continues after podcast.
In fact, “curious” was yesterday’s courtroom buzzword, with the presiding judge left baffled by Gibson’s bank statements and vague explanations regarding her expenses and assets.
Basically, the bulk of her answers when questioned about her finances were: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
The disgraced blogger, who claimed she had brain cancer that was cured through the alternative therapies plugged in her wellness app, The Whole Pantry, was fined $410,000 by the Federal Court after duping her Australian consumers - many of whom did actually have cancer - out of half a million dollars. She had promised to donate the proceeds to multiple charities.
Since being issued the fine in 2017, the 27-year-old has not paid a single cent, even after facing several warnings for not paying the fine for breaches of consumer laws. She claims she simply cannot afford to.
So her finances were examined in court, and yes, a fellow named Clive came up. A lot.
Here, we present you with the nine most WTF moments from her day in court:
1. When she rocked up to court wearing a brand new $200 dress.
But seemed to not know how she came up with the money for it.
When pressed further about how she buys her clothes and what labels they were, she simply could not remember.
2. When she told the judge she has no idea what her housemate Clive does for a living.
During the hearing, Gibson told the court she and her eight-year-old son Olivier live with a 46-year-old man named "Clive" who she firmly asserted is NOT her partner, but who also sometimes pays her rent.
He also "gifted" her the money for her legal fees.
She went on to disclose that she has a $90,000 personal debt owing to Clive, but could not remember what for.
When asked about what Clive does for a living, she said it "wasn't her business".
Belle... WHO IS CLIVE?
3. When she revealed she does odd jobs on Airtasker for pocket money.
According to Gibson, she earns a living wage by doing jobs on Airtasker as well as relying on government benefits.
Just imagine having Belle Gibson help you move a couch down your apartment stairs. Imagine.
4. When she swore she couldn't remember how much she was paid for her very famous 60 Minutes interview.
Despite reports suggesting she received a $75,000 pay cheque for that all-revealing chat with Tara Brown, Gibson couldn't quite recall the exact amount.
Because it seems very likely someone would forget being paid an enormous sum of money to talk about how they conned Australia out of... an enormous sum of money.
5. When she said she "doesn't think about her phone bill".
Apparently, the cost of her phone bill is “not information she spends time thinking about". That is an exact quote.
6. When she listed her eight-year-old son as the lead passenger on all their overseas trips.
As Nikou Madalin, representing Consumer Affairs, attempted to get to the bottom of Gibson's finances, invoices for her trips overseas were examined.
“[Your son] is listed as the lead passenger and you are the companion,” Madalin asked.
“Correct,” Gibson replied.
She would not elaborate on her answer.
7. When she said she charges her friends to help them with life admin.
Gibson stated that she is owed "about $100" from friends... for picking up groceries.
Yep.
8. When she didn't think investing in crypotcurrency was an investment.
Prosecutors told the courtroom that Gibson has maintained active cryptocurrency and sports betting accounts in recent times. Gibson, however, declined to provide a cryptocurrency statement because she “didn’t think that was an investment”.
9. When Clive paid for her to go on a month-long holiday in Africa.
Which he did not attend.
He just shelled out $3108 for flights and $2000 for accommodation, and off she went.
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Top Comments
Sounds like she might've put the money in a trust account in her son's name. Since her son is underage she would have control of the account, but the tickets probably had to be paid for in his name. An easy way for her to have money and say she doesn't have any.
Just put her in jail already!