Grey’s Anatomy writer who faked cancer went to extreme lengths to convince people on set she was ill
A highly regarded Grey’s Anatomy writer faked her cancer diagnosis for almost a decade, and her colleagues revealed the ways she made sure everyone would believe her.
When writer and co-producer Elisabeth Finch was exposed for her web of lies, it came as a shock to those who knew and loved her.
Not only had she deceived her friends, family and Grey’s Anatomy co-workers, but also her wife, too.
Because of her deception, her work in the industry - which also included writing for The Vampire Diaries - was tarnished, with the case so shocking it's now the subject of a three-part docu-series on Peacock.
Advert
Elisabeth joined the popular ABC medical drama back in 2014, writing 13 episodes and producing a further 172.
While working on the hit series, Finch revealed to multiple publications and colleagues on the show that she had a rare form of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma.
The writer also claimed to have had lost a kidney due to the gruelling treatment and said she was forced to undergo an abortion due to the chemo - even penning articles for the likes of Elle and The Hollywood Reporter about her ongoing health ordeal.
Turns out that none of was true though. In 2022 it all came tumbling down when Vanity Fair published an exposé that questioned the validity of the majority of Finch's claims.
The writer was placed on administrative leave following the release of the article, with Finch later resigning from the Grey's Anatomy team after admitting to lying.
The docu-series chronicling the events - titled Anatomy of Lies - dives into the lies Finch told for over a decade, with testimonies from her friends and now ex-wife, Jennifer Beyer.
In the trailer, her colleague and producer, Andy Reaser, shared how betrayed he felt when she was busted.
He then went on to share the things she did to make everyone believe her lies.
Reaser shared: “The thing is, it was so confusing.
“You have to move through eight years of interactions to even wrap your head around it and I’m not even sure that I still fully have.”
Reaser said it was like ‘performance art’ and explained how far she’d go to convince everyone around her that she was seriously ill.
He said: “She was showing up to work with a shaved head and a, you know, a greenish hue. She looked like she lived in a microwave.
"She was eating these Saltines and drinking ginger ale and going to the bathroom to take puke breaks from her chemo.”
He also claimed that there was a rumour that she would go through the show’s props and ask to look at a ‘very particular piece of something’.
He said: “For all I know, she had a Lego taped to her chest.
“It’s just so hard to imagine that someone could commit that strongly to that and it seems so much harder to me than just doing your job well.”
After her lies were uncovered, Finch spoke to the Ankler, admitting publicly that she ‘never had any form of cancer’.
She said her lies ‘got bigger and bigger and bigger and got buried deeper and deeper inside me.’
Finch added: “I know it’s absolutely wrong what I did. I lied and there’s no excuse for it.”
You can stream Anatomy of Lies now.
Topics: Health, TV And Film, Cancer, Grey's Anatomy
Britt Jones