Elisabeth Finch, a former writer for the ABC medical program Grey’s Anatomy, has acknowledged in a recent interview that she lied about having cancer after being accused of fabricating fictitious stories about her life and utilizing them as narrative lines for the show. Finch, who was placed on administrative leave in March and subsequently resigned from the program, according to The Ankler, “What I did was wrong. Not okay. “Screwed up!”
Finch admitted to the site that she never had “any sort of cancer” after earlier claiming to have fought the uncommon bone disease chondrosarcoma and undergoing chemotherapy while writing for Grey’s Anatomy. Finch also claimed that she lost a kidney and had her tibia partially amputated due to her disease, and that she had an abortion as a result of the chemotherapy.
Finch informed her coworkers that her brother had committed himself and that she knew a victim of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, in addition to lying about her health issues. According to The Ankler, Finch did not know any of the victims, and her brother is still alive and practicing medicine in Florida.
“When I was 34, I uttered a falsehood, and it was the worst mistake of my life,” stated Finch. “It simply became bigger and bigger and bigger and went buried deeper and deeper inside me.”
While Finch told Ankler, “there is no justification for that,” she continued, “but there is context.”
“The simplest way I can explain it is that many people develop maladaptive coping mechanisms when they suffer trauma,” she added. “Some individuals drink to conceal or forget things. Substance abusers attempt to modify their world. Some people cut. I lied. That was my coping mechanism and my way of feeling safe and heard.”
Finch stated that she began lying in 2007, when she was injured on a hike and required multiple surgeries, including a knee replacement. After receiving “amazing” and “wonderful” support from her coworkers prior to her surgeries, Finch lamented the “dead silence” that surrounded her during her recovery.
“Because I lacked support, I reverted to my old maladaptive coping mechanism: I lied and concocted a story because I needed support and attention, and that’s how I pursued it. This is where the lie began, she told The Ankler: in the silence.
Finch left Grey’s Anatomy months ago after her estranged wife, Jennifer Beyer, discovered she had invented significant portions of her past, including incidents from Beyer’s own life. Finch was initially placed on administrative leave as Disney, the parent company of ABC, launched an investigation; she subsequently resigned and entered a treatment facility in Arizona.
One of Finch’s colleagues told The Hollywood Reporter at the time, “You believe this poor woman was going through this awful thing, and you want to support her.”
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