Grey’s Anatomy liar Elisabeth Finch who faked cancer breaks her silence after ‘Anatomy of Lies’ docuseries
Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch has apologized for faking her cancer diagnosis after a new bombshell docuseries aired her litany of lies.
The three-part Peacock series, “Anatomy of Lies,” delves into the disturbing web of deception Finch has created to inspire episodes and advance in Hollywood.
As the series began streaming Tuesday night, Finch, 47, issued a lengthy apology on social media while vowing to become a better person.
“I have not given anyone any reason to believe a word I say,” Finch, who confessed to her fabrications in December 2022, wrote on her Instagram Story.
“I’ve lied about so much; things that have devastated so many people in real life. “I’m sorry” feels like the smallest words compared to what I’ve done, yet they’re the truest.”
Finch (far right wearing surgical cap) appeared in a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. She used elements of Beyer’s past trauma in some episodes, as well as her own fake personal story
“I have trapped myself in the addiction of lies, betraying and traumatizing my closest family, friends and colleagues,” Finch continued.
“I will make amends and express my sincere regret as best I can when people are ready.”
Finch also declares her enduring love for her ex-wife Jennifer Beyer, saying her “biggest regret” was saying “yes” to Jennifer’s proposal before being honest with her about the cancer lie.
Beyer breaks her silence about the ordeal for the first time via Anatomy of Lies.
“When you love someone, you ignore warning signs until they hit you in the head,” Beyer tells viewers.
“I don’t know who my wife is,” she said tearfully about discovering the truth about Finch.
Finch, who also helped write True Blood, faked a rare bone cancer called chondrosarcoma for almost a decade from the age of 34.
She even went as far as taking “vomit breaks” at work and shaving her head to look like she had undergone chemotherapy.
Finch also claimed that the treatment cost her a kidney and forced her to have an abortion.
Eventually, parts of her faux-personal story wound up in the storylines of the beloved Shonda Rhimes show.
Meanwhile, Finch’s deception continued to mount as she lied about being close friends with one of the victims of the 2018 anti-Semitic mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, and about her brother — who is still alive — dying by suicide.
Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch has apologized for pretending to have cancer in a lengthy Instagram statement after a new bombshell docuseries aired her litany of lies
Finch even went so far as to take “vomit breaks” at work and shave her head to look as if she had undergone chemotherapy during the decade-long deception of her colleagues and friends.
Seven years after the cancer lie was launched, Finch was first exposed by her estranged wife Jennifer Beyer (pictured), who spoke out for the first time in the Peacock docuseries.
Seven years after launching the cancer lie, Finch was exposed by Beyer, a few years after they tied the knot in 2020.
As a survivor of domestic violence from a previous 18-year marriage, Beyer understood that her then-wife was extracting her own trauma for storylines on Grey’s Anatomy — specifically for Jo’s character.
Finch also claimed elements of Beyer’s painful past as her own.
Anatomy of Lies places Beyer at the center of the story she tries to reclaim from a “compelling storyteller who showed no signs of stopping.”
She also talks about how her ex-wife was able to get away with her lies for so long.
In December 2022, Finch admitted that she had lied about her personal and medical history and confirmed that she had not had any form of cancer.
She said she had a catheter taped to her arm and shaved her head to make it look like she was undergoing chemotherapy.
Finch also admitted that her brother did not die by suicide and currently lives in Florida.
During an interview with journalist Peter Kiefer, who told the story of her lies for the first time, she said: ‘What I did was wrong. Not okay. Damn. All the words.”
‘I told a lie when I was 34 years old and it was the biggest mistake of my life. It just got bigger and bigger and bigger and got buried deeper and deeper inside me.
I have never had any form of cancer. I know what I did was absolutely wrong. I lied and there is no excuse for that.’
The couple met in 2019 when they were both patients at a mental health treatment center in Arizona, where Beyer was being treated for severe PTSD after an 18-year abusive marriage.
Finch’s ex-wife Jennifer (right), who is a nurse, became suspicious of her wife’s lies after tying the knot in 2020
Finch (left) with one of the show’s stars – she was placed on administrative leave after the initial allegations and subsequently took a leave of absence from the show – but never returned
She claims the “context” of the lie is that she suffered “years of medical purgatory” after hurting her knee while hiking and requiring multiple surgeries to correct the problem.
“What ended up happening is that everyone was so great and wonderful leading up to all the surgeries.
‘They were so helpful and then I got my knee replacement. It was a great recovery period and then it was dead quiet because of course everyone said, “Yay! You’re healed!”
‘But it was dead quiet. And I had no support and fell back to my old, maladaptive coping mechanism. I lied and made something up because I needed support and attention, and that’s the way I went after it.
“That’s where the lie started, in that silence.”