Featured Image Credit: Peacock/ABC
Topics: Cancer, Health, Film and TV
Callum Jones
A Grey's Anatomy writer who admitted to lying about having cancer is the subject of an upcoming Peacock documentary delving into the web of deceit that saw her career come crumbling down.
Elisabeth Finch joined the popular medical drama show in 2014, writing 13 episodes including the hugely important 'Silent All These Years' which followed a sexual assault victim, as well as producing a further 172 episodes.
While working on the ABC show, Finch revealed to multiple publications and colleagues on the show that she had a rare form of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma.
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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 - frequently penning heartfelt essays in the likes of Elle and The Hollywood Reporter about her ongoing health ordeal.
None of it was true though and 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.
Finch confirmed she never even had cancer, telling The Ankler in December 2022: "I’ve never had any form of cancer.
"It [the lie] just got bigger and bigger and bigger and got buried deeper and deeper inside me.
"I know it’s absolutely wrong what I did. I lied and there’s no excuse for it."
She continued: "The best way I can explain it is when you experience a level of trauma a lot of people adopt a maladaptive coping mechanism.
"Some people drink to hide or forget things. Drug addicts try to alter their reality. Some people cut.
"I lied. That was my coping and my way to feel safe and seen and heard."
As well as lying about her health, Finch also fabricated a story that she helped with the removal of her friend's body after a 2018 shooting.
Meanwhile, in 2019, she told Grey's colleagues that her older brother Eric had taken his own life, claiming he had been on life support for a short time.
Eric is in fact alive and well, living in Florida.
On Tuesday (17 September), Peacock announced it was concluding a three-part docuseries on the unprecedented string of lies in the form of Anatomy of Lies.
A teaser trailer for the new series was released earlier this week, with the program including a variety of different interviews with people close to Finch.
A press release states: "The docuseries reveals how Finch, a master of manipulation, saved her best fiction for her own life story and exploited the empathy of those around her.
"Her final mark was trauma survivor Jennifer Beyer, who entrusted Finch with her deepest secrets. But as Beyer uncovers the web of lies that deceived Hollywood for years, she faces a daunting challenge: Can she reclaim the narrative from a convincing storyteller who showed no signs of stopping?"
All three episodes of the new series will be available to stream on Peacock from October 15.