File photo. (REUTERS/Robert Galbraith)
Usually Apple would brag about adding new apps to its showcase of programs that will launch when the Apple watch arrives. Instead, it's quietly doing away with one that comes from a controversial celebrity.
The Whole Pantry app, created by Australian lifestyle celebrity Belle Gibson, has disappeared from Apple's showcase of apps that will debut on the Apple Watch. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the app's creator has a checkered history and has been accused of lying about having cancer, as well as failing to give money to charities as she claimed.
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The app, which Gibson had been flown in to Apple headquarters to work on the Watch prior to release, appears as though it won't appear on the Apple Watch. The primary app for iOS was removed from App Store in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The app is still available in the Google Play Store, but Apple seems to have cut ties entirely from Gibson.
Gibson had become famous for beating what was diagnosed as with terminal brain cancer without using conventional methods. Medical professionals have questioned her story, and she recently admitted that she may have been misdiagnosed. Gibson has been subject to death threats and harassment online in recent months.
Her app has become a popular resource for those interested in living a healthy lifestyle, and an award-winning product. The companion Watch app was to provide step-by-step guidance through healthy recipes and serve as a cooking timer.
The public presence of Gibson, including her Facebook an Instagram accounts, have been locked from public comments. Neither Apple nor Gibson has made official comment on the recent developments or the decision to remove Whole Pantry from the App Store.
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