A Grey’s Anatomy writer who wrote episodes of the hit show based on her own medical traumas has now been accused of making it all up by her estranged wife.
Writer Elisabeth Finch, 44, is now understood to be on administrative leave from the show pending an investigation.
According to The Ankler, her 40-year-old wife Jennifer Beyer called Shondaland – Shonda Rhimes’ production company that makes the show – and Disney to report Finch for lying.
The alleged lies started unraveling when Finch left the show suddenly, citing a family emergency. Her concerned colleagues phoned Beyer for an up-date, and the details of the story Finch had given them were similar to things Beyer had experienced and not her wife.
Since then, Finch has been placed on administrative leave.
Among stories she has projected are having an abortion while undergoing chemotherapy, and how her doctors ‘missed’ her diagnosis.
Writer Elisabeth Finch, 44, (right in scrubs) is now understood to be on administrative leave from the show pending an investigation. She wrote episodes of the show that she claimed were based on experiences she had including one titled Silent All These Years (shown)
Finch’s wife Jennifer (right) is who reported the alleged lies to Shondaland and Disney. The pair are shown on their 2020 wedding day. They are now in the midst of a divorce
Finch has written multiple essays and articles for publications including ELLE and The Hollywood Reporter detailing her battle with bone cancer
She has written 13 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, regularly does press for the show and has penned essays for ELLE and The Hollywood Reporter about her medical background and being bi-sexual.
She also claims to have suffered sexual abuse – which inspired the Grey’s episode Silent All These Years.
Beyer and Finch are in the midst of a divorce. The pair tied the knot in the summer of 2020.
Finch had been single until then, but Beyer had five kids from a previous relationship. The couple are understood to have lived with the family in Kansas.
Finch is a successful writer who has worked on Grey’s for more than eight seasons. In articles for ELLE and The Hollywood Reporter, she has written proudly of using her medical traumas to inspire episodes of the hit show.
Finch has also claimed in the past to have been the victim of abuse and harassment at The Vampire Diaries, the show she previously produced
Finch, 44, is now said to be under investigation. Her attorney has said she will not comment on the allegations or her pending divorce
One article from 2018 was titled: ‘Catherine Avery’s Cancer Plot Line On ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Is Based On My Life. This Is Why I Finally Wrote About It.’
In that piece, she wrote: ‘When my job at Grey’s Anatomy asked me if I would not only write about cancer, but also admit it’s my life, I wanted to say no. No to the showrunner I love on the show I’ve worked on for five years. A big, fat, super-emphatic, though ever-polite “No.”
‘My boss, Krista Vernoff, suggested I use my point of view as a person with cancer to write a storyline where one of our beloved characters is diagnosed, too,’ she said.
In an earlier piece in 2016, she told how she ‘confronted the doctor who missed’ her diagnosis
She was diagnosed, she said, with bone cancer at the age of 34.
According to The Ankler, Finch’s estranged wife called bosses recently to claim that she was lying.
Finch on the set of Grey’s Anatomy with co-executive producer Linda Klein
Finch with one of the show’s stars Sarah Drew in an episode titled Who is He and What Is He to You?
Colleagues told The Hollywood Reporter they were stunned by the suggestion that she could have made it all up, and many are not convinced.
‘You believe this poor woman was going through this awful thing and you want to support her,’ one said.
Another however told The Ankler that some people were suspicious about the opaqueness of her story.
‘There was so much craziness in her life and she was so cryptic and private and it was always like, what is the story here? It often felt like a carrot-dangle but I just thought we were dealing with someone who was wildly insecure but not some sort of mastermind,’ they said.
Finch’s attorney told DailyMail.com: ‘Ms. Finch is not going to discuss her private health matters. Likewise, she will not speak about her pending divorce from her estranged wife, Jennifer Beyer, or comment on any statements that Ms. Beyer may have made to third parties about Ms. Finch.’
When asked if she had been placed on leave, a Shondaland rep told The Ankler: ‘Only Elisabeth can speak to her personal story.’
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk