The Whole Pantry disappears from App Store after fraud claims
Belle Gibson is the creator of award-winning healthy eating app The Whole Pantry, and her companion app was one of the featured apps on the Apple Watch Web page. According to a report from MacRumors, though, Gibson’s app has disappeared completely from the App Store and no mention can be found of The Whole Pantry on the Apple Watch apps page anymore.
The Sydney Morning Herald points out that Gibson has been accused of committing fraud. Last week, a media storm erupted in Australia and around the world, centered around the 23-year-old entrepreneur and allegations that she falsely claimed to have cancer and failed to hand over money she had raised for charities. In addition to her apps being pulled, Gibson’s debut cookbook of the same name has been pulled from circulation in Australia and won’t launch in America next month as planned.
It is unfortunate that Gibson chose to lie about her cancer diagnosis. It’s downright angering that she has withheld money that was supposed to go into the hands of charities that so desperately need funding. It is quite understandable, therefore, why the app would be pulled from the Apple Watch advertisements and from the App Store. Apple almost certainly would not want the launch of the Apple Watch to be marred with scandal.
The question remains, though, of whether Apple severed the relationship themselves or if Gibson has chosen to quietly remove herself from the public eye. The Whole Pantry’s official Facebook page has been deactivated and Gibson’s private Instagram account has been wiped clean. It would appear, then, that Gibson is trying to make herself scarce.
Wanting to disappear is definitely understandable, given the public backlash that she has experienced since word came out that the funds were not delivered to the charities. Gibson claims that her home address has been published online, along with her son’s childcare details. “I do think it’s important for myself and the company to recognise everyone’s anger and confusion surrounding this last week, though this doesn’t justify how others have perpetuated this or responded so maliciously,” Gibson told the Daily Mail. Of course, none of this would have even happened if Gibson had been honest about her diagnosis and turned over the charity money.
