“Grey’s Anatomy” top script writer Elisabeth Finch was placed on “administrative leave” from the show as Disney’s human resources and legal department investigates her life.
Sources close to the show confirmed to the The Hollywood Reporter (THR) that Finch, 44, is under the investigation after questions arose over a previous cancer diagnosis and abortion, among other aspects of her life that were translated into episodes of the show. Finch had previously penned a story for THR in which she detailed how her cancer disability became a storyline on the hit medical drama.
Finch has worked as a writer on Grey’s for years under both Shonda Rhimes and Krista Vernoff, but concerns arose around the honesty of her storytelling when a colleague spoke with Finch’s wife, Jennifer Beyer, according to THR. Beyer allegedly spoke with Disney and Shondaland executives, which prompted Finch to be placed on leave for the duration of the investigation.
Beyer and Finch are in the midst of a divorce, which one source described as “acrimonious,” while Finch’s lawyers described their relationship as “estranged,” in a statement to THR. (RELATED: Stacey Abrams Makes Cameo Appearance In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ As ‘President Of United Earth’)
#GreysAnatomy writer Elisabeth Finch has been placed on administrative leave amid concerns that elements of her personal journey — some of which she wrote into the show — were allegedly fabricated #THRNews pic.twitter.com/JDMc7KPcJj
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 18, 2022
Finch has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer the year before she was hired to work on Grey’s, according to The Ankler. Finch claimed she went through several rounds of chemotherapy and was forced to abort her unborn child as a result of her illness.
After that, Finch said she lost a kidney and part of her leg, which required her to have knee replacement surgery, the Ankler continued. Finch later learned that she had been misdiagnosed, according to an essay she wrote for Elle Magazine. In another essay for THR, Finch said that she had been sexually and verbally abused by a male director when she worked on “Vampire Diaries.”
Finch has been overtly open about her personal life, but every story is now being called into question, THR reported. Other sources said they were suspicious of the opaque nature of Finch’s 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?” they said, according to the Daily Mail. “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.”