Grey’s Anatomy writer who faked cancer took ‘puke breaks’ as ex-colleague brands her lies ‘performance art’

Grey's Anatomy writer who faked cancer took 'puke breaks' as ex-colleague brands her lies 'performance art'

As a dedicated follower of the entertainment industry, I have seen my fair share of unusual stories, but none quite as bizarre and heartbreaking as the one surrounding Elisabeth Finch, a writer for Grey’s Anatomy who pretended to have cancer for nearly a decade.


Elisabeth Finch, the writer on Grey’s Anatomy, deceived many for nearly a decade by claiming to have cancer. She frequently took breaks at work as if she were vomiting, and significantly changed her appearance to give the impression that she was going through chemotherapy treatments.

In a recently released preview for the upcoming Peacock documentary Anatomy of Lies, Andy Reaser – a former colleague, writer, and producer – discloses that Finch would appear at work with a bald head and a greenish complexion to maintain the deception that she was sick.

In the three-part series on Peacock, Reaser explains that her actions, which involved fabricating tales about Finch’s personal and medical life to fuel TV episodes and climb the Hollywood ladder, can be seen as a form of ‘artistic expression’ or ‘performance art,’ following her 2022 admission.

He clarifies that he experienced a sense of deception. What made it complicated was the fact that it required sifting through eight years of encounters just to begin understanding it, and he’s unsure if he has completely grasped it yet.

Her appearance at work was striking, sporting a bald head and a peculiar greenish complexion. It seemed as if she resided within a microwave. She was frequently snacking on Saltines, sipping ginger ale, and taking regular breaks to vomit due to her chemotherapy treatment.

Grey's Anatomy writer who faked cancer took 'puke breaks' as ex-colleague brands her lies 'performance art'

Grey's Anatomy writer who faked cancer took 'puke breaks' as ex-colleague brands her lies 'performance art'

As a lifestyle enthusiast, allow me to share an intriguing claim I’ve come across: Some folks suggest that she ventured off to the area where medical equipment was stored, with a keen interest in examining a particular item. Now, it’s only speculation on my part, but it seems plausible that she might have attached a Lego piece to her torso for some reason.

It’s really tough for me to picture someone being that dedicated to something, and it strikes me as more challenging than simply performing one’s duties effectively.

In 2014, Finch joined the team working on Grey’s Anatomy. She portrayed a character who feigned having to endure intense chemotherapy against her will.

She claimed the treatment cost her a kidney and forced her to have an abortion, and eventually, parts of her fake story ended up in the story lines of the much-loved Shonda Rhimes show.

Finch’s false claims escalated when she pretended to have been a close friend with one of the victims from the 2018 anti-Semitic attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue, where she wasn’t actually acquainted.

Seven years following the initial unveiling of the “cancer hoax,” Finch was initially unmasked by her spouse, Jennifer Beyer, marking the first time she spoke out publicly about the matter. Both Jennifer and her story are featured in the docuseries.

2020 marked the year when Beyer started to understand that the life she shared with Finch was underpinned by a vast web of deceit once they got married.

In the aftermath of an 18-year marriage marked by domestic abuse, Beyer started recognizing that her ex-spouse was drawing from personal traumatic experiences to craft storylines for the character of Jo on Grey’s Anatomy.

Grey's Anatomy writer who faked cancer took 'puke breaks' as ex-colleague brands her lies 'performance art'
Grey's Anatomy writer who faked cancer took 'puke breaks' as ex-colleague brands her lies 'performance art'

Finch was also claiming elements of Beyer’s agonizing past as her own.

Although Finch often dominates the news, Beyer is positioned as the main focus in “Anatomy of Lies,” a position she’s trying to regain from a persuasive storyteller who shows no signs of slowing down, as US Magazine puts it.

In the docuseries, Beyer reveals insights about how his ex-wife managed to maintain her deceit for such a prolonged period, alongside other Grey’s writers and Finch’s colleagues.

Back in December 2022, Finch openly confessed that she had fabricated details about her personal life and medical background. Specifically, she revealed that she never battled cancer and the catheter she attached to her arm along with shaving her head were not a result of chemotherapy treatments, but rather an attempt to create an impression that she was going through such a process.

In an interview with journalist Peter Kiefer, she said: ‘What I did was wrong. Not okay. F***d up. All the words.’

Anatomy of Lies will premiere on Peacock on Tuesday, October 15.

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2024-10-15 00:53

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