'Grey's Anatomy' Writer Takes Leave of Absence Amid Allegations of Faking Medical History
The Grey's Anatomy writer currently under fire for allegedly faking parts of her medical history is officially taking a leave from the show. Elisabeth Finch confirmed she is breaking from the show amid the controversy in a lengthy statement.
"I will always remain one of Grey's Anatomy's biggest fans," Finch wrote. "I loved the show from day one and had the honor to write for it since season 11. 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. I'm immensely grateful to Disney, ABC, and Shondaland for allowing me to do so and for supporting me through this very difficult time."
Lawyer Andrew Brettler also added that the time away from the show would give the writer a chance to deal with her divorce from 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 lawyer added.
Earlier in March, rumors and allegations went public regarding Finch's alleged fabrication of her medical history. Many of the details helped to inform her writing on the show, including her cancer diagnosis and having an abortion while undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
According to E! News, Finch wrote 13 episodes of the show from 2015 through 2021. The outlet singles out the 2019 episode, "The Winner Takes It All," Finch pulled from her experience with a "rare form of bone cancer," expanding on the experience in an essay with The Hollywood Reporter.
"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," Finch wrote. "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."
Now this experience and others are being questioned. While it isn't likely to affect Grey's Anatomy at this point, it is an unfortunate byproduct if it turns out to be true.