Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch, who pretended to have cancer for nearly a decade, took “vomit breaks” at work and drastically changed her appearance to trick people into thinking she was undergoing chemotherapy.
In a new clip from the upcoming Peacock documentary, Anatomy of Lies, Finch’s former colleague, writer and producer Andy Reaser reveals how she would come to work “with a shaved head and a greenish tint” to continue the act she was. unwell.
As part of the three-part Peacock docuseries, which delves deep into the fabricated stories of Finch’s own medical and personal life to inspire episodes and advance in Hollywood, Reaser describes her actions as “like performance art,” following her confession in 2022.
“I felt betrayal,” he explains. “The thing is, it was so confusing. You have to sit through eight years of interactions before you can even wrap your head around it, and I’m not even sure I’ve fully done that yet.
‘She came to work with a shaved head and a greenish complexion. She looked like she was living in a microwave. She ate these Saltines, drank ginger beer, and went to the bathroom to take puke breaks from her chemotherapy,” Reaser continues.
Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch, who pretended to have cancer for nearly a decade, took ‘vomit breaks’ at work
Finch’s former colleague Andy Reaser appears in a new Peacock docuseries about her mountain of lies, which inspired many storylines
Reaser also claims, “I’ve heard people say she went to where all the medical equipment was and wanted to look at a very specific part of something. As far as I know, she had a Lego stuck to her chest.
‘It’s so hard to imagine that someone can be so strongly committed to that and it seems to me so much more difficult than just doing your job well.’
Finch was hired to work on Grey’s Anatomy in 2014 and pretended she was being forced to undergo grueling chemotherapy.
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 storylines of the beloved Shonda Rhimes show.
Finch’s deception continued to grow when she lied about being close friends with one of the victims of the 2018 anti-Semitic mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue.
Seven years after the cancer lie was launched, Finch was first exposed by her wife Jennifer Beyer, who also appears in the docuseries and breaks her silence for the first time.
Beyer began to realize that the life she lived with Finch was built on a mountain of lies after tying the knot in 2020.
As a survivor of domestic violence from a previous 18-year marriage, Beyer came to understand that her then-wife was extracting her own trauma for storylines on Grey’s Anatomy — specifically for Jo’s character.
Finch’s ex-wife Jennifer Beyer (right) tells her side of the story in the three-part series, revealing how she began to suspect the writer
Finch (far right wearing surgical cap) appeared in a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, taking elements from Beyer’s past trauma to use in episodes
Finch also claimed elements of Beyer’s painful past as her own.
Despite Finch being the subject of most headlines, Anatomy of Lies puts Beyer at the center of the story trying to reclaim a “compelling storyteller who showed no signs of stopping,” US Magazine describes.
Beyer appears in the docuseries alongside other Grey’s writers and Finch’s colleagues and explains how her ex-wife was able to get away with her lies for so long.
In December 2022, Finch admitted to lying about her personal and medical history, confirming that she had not had any form of cancer and that she had a catheter taped to her arm and shaved her head to appear as if she were receiving chemotherapy underwent.
In an interview with journalist Peter Kiefer, she said: ‘What I did was wrong. Not okay. Damn. All the words.”
Anatomy of Lies premieres on Peacock on Tuesday, October 15.