Anatomy of Liesbroadcast on the American platform Peacock, traces the journey of a screenwriter who was inspired by a cancer that she did not have to write episodes.
If the incredible intrigues of Grey’s Anatomy has fascinated viewers for 20 years, some of its most surprising twists and turns have taken place behind the scenes. As evidence Anatomy of Liesa documentary series unveiled Tuesday, October 15 on the American platform Peacock, which tells how a screenwriter of the program made all her colleagues believe that she had survived cancer, even using this lie as inspiration for the writing of the episodes.
The affair broke out in May 2022, when the American edition of Vanity Fair exposed Elisabeth Finch’s lies. As Variety summarizes, she worked on writing the series True Blood et The Vampire Diaries in the early 2010s when she began posting about her chondrosarcoma, the rare bone cancer she claimed to have.
These articles on her fight against illness caught the eye of Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomywho found him a place among the writers of the series in 2014.
Tentacled lies
Through testimonies from former colleagues, Anatomy of Lies traces the journey of Elisabeth Finch: how this fictional illness inspired that of the character of Catherine Avery, played by Debbie Allen, her fake chemotherapy sessions, her head that she shaved to create an illusion… but also other stories .
So, when a gun attack left 11 dead at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, she assured that a friend of hers was among the victims and that she helped recover his remains. She also claims to have been abused by her brother as a child. This same brother, according to her, would have found himself brain dead after a suicide attempt, and she would have made the decision to unplug him. She also says she suffered sexual violence as well as an abortion during her cancer treatment.
Variety also reports how, when her former colleague Kiley Donovan revealed to her that she was the child of rape, Elisabeth Finch was inspired by this trauma for a narrative arc for Jo Wilson’s character. This is the first name she uses when she enters a psychiatric clinic, in May 2019, to treat alleged post-traumatic stress syndrome.
The affair revealed
There she meets Jennifer Beyer, a single mother, who is trying to recover from the physical and psychological abuse of her ex-husband. The two women become closer and get married in 2020. This is by Jennifer Beyer, one of the main speakers of‘Anatomy of Liesthat the truth will be brought to light.
Noticing inconsistencies in her stories, Jennifer Beyer confronts her. Elisabeth Finch ends up admitting her lies: the cancer, the fact that she didn’t go to Pittsburgh to recover her body…
“I started to realize what had happened,” she told USA Today. “I met a woman in a psychiatric hospital. I invited her into my home and into my children’s lives. She lied to me and I didn’t realize anything.”
Jennifer Beyer then decides to reveal the truth to the teams of Grey’s Anatomy. She raises the alarm by writing an email to Shonda Rhimes, informing her of Elisabeth Finch’s lies. Laid off, the latter resigns in 2022.
Apologies from the person concerned
Anatomy of Lies was directed by Evgenia Peretz, the journalist who investigated the case for Vanity Fair, and her husband David Schisgall, screenwriter and producer. The day the documentary was released, Elisabeth Finch posted a long apology message on Instagram.
“I lied about so many things,” she wrote. “Things that have actually happened to people that have devastated them. ‘I’m sorry’ seems like the weakest words for what I’ve done, but they’re the most sincere.”
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