After being accused of exaggerating parts of her medical history, Elisabeth Finch announced on March 31 a personal leave of absence from ABC's doctor drama.
- Apr 2, 2022
AceShowbiz - Elisabeth Finch, one of "Grey's Anatomy" writers, is taking a break from the show. After being accused of exaggerating her medical history, Finch announced on March 31 a personal leave of absence from ABC's doctor drama.
"I will always remain one of Grey's Anatomy's biggest fans," she said in a statement. "I loved the show from day one and had the honor to write for it since season 11."
She went on to say, "The proudest moment of my career was watching survivors of rape receive the episode Silent All These Years. 'Grey's Anatomy' is one big-hearted, brilliant family. As hard as it is to take some time away right now, I know it is more important that I focus on my own family and my health."
Concluding her statement, Finch wrote, "I'm immensely grateful to Disney, ABC, and Shondaland for allowing me to do so and for supporting me through this very difficult time."
Meanwhile, her lawyer Andrew Brettler shared in a statement that Finch will use the time to deal with divorce proceedings with her former wife Jennifer Beyer. "Elisabeth requested a personal (unpaid) leave of absence so she can focus on her health and deal with this very acrimonious-and now public-divorce," the statement read.
On March 17, Finch, who wrote 13 episodes of Grey's between 2015-2021, was placed on administrative leave from the show after questions about her authenticity came to light. She allegedly fabricated parts of her medical history, including her cancer diagnosis and having an abortion while undergoing chemotherapy.
In writing for "Grey's Anatomy", Finch claimed she often relied on and referenced her own life in her scripts. In a 2019 episode titled "The Winner Takes It All," Finch incorporated what she said was her rare form of bone cancer.
"As a person who has been living with a rare form of bone cancer, Chondrosarcoma, for over six years, I've yet to understand what 'winning' looks like, what 'losing' looks like," she wrote in an essay published by The Hollywood Reporter. "Days after I mentioned this in the writers' room, showrunner Krista Vernoff asked me how I'd feel about writing a storyline that mirrored my own."
