‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Writer Who Pretended To Have Cancer Faked Chemotherapy Symptoms To Convince Coworkers

In a three-part docuseries Anatomy of Lies, new details about the life and lies of Elisabeth Finch, the Grey’s Anatomy writer who infamously faked a cancer diagnosis, are revealed.

A seasoned TV writer with credits on shows such as True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, in 2012, Finch began to tell friends and colleagues that she had been diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. She even wrote a now-removed essay for Elle about her unique experience with the disease, which caught the attention of an executive at Shondaland, Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes’ production company. Impressed with the essay, Rhimes offered Finch a writer’s spot on the ABC show, and Finch’s health issues were soon incorporated into episode storylines, which Finch wrote.

The truth about Finch’s diagnosis was first reported in March 2022, when The Ankler published the initial article that exposed Finch for fabricating her personal and medical history. She was fired from the show after eight seasons of work.

In addition to her diagnosis lie, Finch had also falsely claimed pregnancy during chemotherapy and the traumatic need to have an abortion. She further swore she had lost a kidney due to chemo and needed a transplant.

In 2018, Finch told people that a close friend of hers had died in the terrorist attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, which killed 11 people. Finch detailed how she collected her friends’ remains to bury them following Jewish tradition and suffered PTSD from the experience. Finch also lied that her older brother Eric, who was supposedly physically and emotionally abusive to her growing up, had shot himself, and she made the harrowing choice to pull the plug. It has been confirmed that Finch’s brother Eric, a doctor, is still alive in Florida.

Over six months after the initial exposé, Finch acknowledged in December 2022 that she had lied about the illness. In her singular post-scandal interview, Finch admitted to The Ankler, “What I did was wrong…Not okay. F— up. All the words.”

A two-part Vanity Fair story written by Evgenia Peretz delved deeper into the details of Finch’s tall tale and inspired the docuseries Anatomy of Lies, also directed by Peretz.

A former colleague of Finch’s, Andy Reaser, wrote and produced the series and remembered the lengths to which Finch went to fake the credibility of her diagnosis in the workplace:

“This was like performance art…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,” Reaser said.

He continued, “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.”

Finch is credited with having written 13 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and produced 172.

Anatomy of Lies premiered on Peacock on Oct. 15, 2024.