Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch, who pretended she had cancer for nearly a decade, took “barf breaks” at work and drastically altered her appearance to make people think 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 he arrived at work “with a shaved head and a greenish hue” to continue acting as before. indisposed.
As part of the three-part Peacock documentary series, which delves into the made-up stories of Finch’s own medical and personal life to inspire episodes and get ahead in Hollywood, Reaser describes his actions as “like performance art,” following his confession of 2022.
“I felt betrayed,” he explains. ‘The thing is, it was very confusing. You have to go through eight years of interactions to even understand it and I’m not even sure I fully did.
‘She showed up to work with a shaved head and a greenish tone. He looked like he lived in a microwave. “I was eating crackers, drinking ginger ale, and going to the bathroom to take breaks from chemo to throw up,” Reaser continues.
Grey’s Anatomy writer Elisabeth Finch, who faked having cancer for nearly a decade, took ‘vomit breaks’ at work
Finch’s former colleague Andy Reaser appears in a new Peacock docuseries about his mountain of lies, which inspired many stories.
Reaser also states: ‘I’ve heard people say that she had gone to where all the medical accessories were and wanted to see a very specific piece of something. For all I know, he had a Lego taped to his chest.
“It’s very difficult to imagine that anyone could commit so strongly to that and I find it much more difficult than simply doing their job well.”
Hired to work on Grey’s Anatomy in 2014, Finch pretended to be 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 plots of Shonda Rhimes’ much-loved show.
Finch’s deception continued to grow when she lied about being close friends with one of the victims of the mass anti-Semitic shooting attack at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.
Seven years after launching the cancer lie, Finch was exposed for the first time by his 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 getting married in 2020.
As a survivor of domestic abuse from a previous marriage of 18 years, Beyer began to understand that his then-wife was mining her own trauma for Grey’s Anatomy stories, specifically for the character of Jo.
Finch’s ex-wife, Jennifer Beyer (right), tells her side of the story in the three-part series and shows that she came to suspect the writer.
Finch (far right with surgical cap) appeared in a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and used elements of Beyer’s past trauma to use in episodes.
Finch also claimed elements of Beyer’s agonizing past as his own.
Although Finch is the subject of most of the headlines, Anatomy of Lies places Beyer at the center of the narrative that attempts to reclaim a “compelling narrator who showed no signs of stopping,” describes US Magazine.
Appearing in the docuseries alongside other Grey’s writers and Finch’s co-workers, Beyer explains how his ex-wife was able to get away with his lies for so long.
In December 2022, Finch admitted that he had lied about his medical and personal history and confirmed that he had not had any type of cancer and that he taped a catheter into his arm and shaved his head to make it look like he was receiving chemotherapy. .
In an interview with journalist Peter Kiefer, he said: ‘What I did was wrong. It’s not good. Fucking. All the words.’
Anatomy of Lies will premiere on Peacock on Tuesday, October 15.
