Did Elisabeth Finch fake cancer? Former Grey’s Anatomy writer defends personal fundraising for L.A. fires after being called a scammer

Elisabeth Finch, a writer of multiple popular shows like Grey's Anatomy, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood, etc., is facing massive backlash for asking people to donate money to her Venmo account so she can help people who are struggling to feed their pets amid the LA wildfires.

Finch was caught lying about having chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in 2022. In a now-deleted post on Facebook, Finch wrote,

"If you want to donate I'm at Venmo @elisabeth-finch (to avoid gofundmefees.) Or message me if you only Zelle. Thank You! This is just me. Boots on the ground. It was challenging enough getting dog food while evacuated a,nd I was at a safe place. So this is for people who have virtually nothing and have pets with basic needs."

Finch's deleted post was reposted by fellow writer, actress, and Grey's Anatomy producer Jamie Denbo, who warned people not to send her any money as she was a "scammer and a liar."

Jamie Denbo calls out Elisabeth Finch. [Image via Facebook/@Jamie Denbo]

The Hollywood Reporter reached out to both writers for a statement. Finch said she understood people's skepticism given her history, but she is only trying to help her community.

"I recognize, given my history, people might be skeptical of my fundraising efforts. I’m trying to make amends in as many ways I can, including helping my community — especially during these difficult times."

She continued,

"So many organizations are calling for gift cards because they are overwhelmed with physical donations, and I didn’t want peoples’ pet needs to get lost in the shuffle."

Denbo told The Hollywood Reporter that she believes Finch hasn't changed, and her actions give people material to mock her.

"Elisabeth continues to scam, deceive and produce incredible material for comedians like myself to use and mock her relentlessly. I can’t thank her enough! (For just the last thing.) Keep it up, Finch!"

According to Vanity Fair journalist Evgenia Peretz's investigation, Finch lied about having chondrosarcoma for years and advanced her career by manipulating and using people around her. Finch's then-wife, Jennifer Beyer, a registered nurse and mother of five from Kansas, revealed her secret to Peretz.

Peretz's two-part documentation of Elisabeth Finch's lies was made into the docuseries Anatomy of Lies, released on Peacock in October 2024.

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Elisabeth Finch's lies and her marriage with Jennifer Bayer

Elisabeth Finch. [Image via Facebook/@ Elisabeth Finch]

Evgenia Peretz wrote the first part of her Vanity Fair article on May 2, 2022, focusing on Finch's multiple lies and how she got into the writer's room of Shonda Rhimes' hit medical drama, Grey's Anatomy.

As per Vanity Fair, Finch wrote an essay for Elle magazine in 2014 about her life with the rare bone cancer. A development executive at Shondaland, Shonda Rhimes' production house, read her story and told Shonda about Finch.

A meeting was arranged, and Finch won them over and secured her place on the writing team of Grey's Anatomy. Based on her "life experience" with the rare bone cancer, she wrote 13 episodes and produced 172 episodes.

Peretz's second article, posted on May 3, 2022, on Vanity Fair, was focused on Jennifer Bayer's relationship with Elisabeth Finch and her manipulation. Bayer met Finch in 2019 at an Arizona mental health treatment center. At the time, she was separated from her abusive ex-husband and getting treatment for PTSD.

Elisabeth Finch in Anatomy of Lies. [Image via YouTube/@Peacock

Finch bonded with Bayer by sharing how her brother used to abuse her. Her brother, who is alive and is working as a doctor in Florida, has denied the abuse accusations. Finch also claimed her friend passed away in the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting, and she collected her body.

The couple got engaged on November 28, 2019. After their engagement, Bayer started suspecting Finch. She ignored her instinct and married in February 2020 at a small wedding in Palos Verdes.

As per the Vanity Fair article, Bayer scrolled through Finch's Facebook account one day, and she realized her wife was hanging out with her friends on the day her friend supposedly died in a mass shooting.

As a nurse, she figured out Finch's scars don't resemble other cancer patients' scars, and she doesn't take her medicines.

Bayer confronted her wife, who admitted everything. They tried to make the marriage work until Bayer could not take it anymore. She found Shonda Rhimes' email address and revealed all the lies.

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According to The Guardian, after Evgenia Peretz's articles were published, Shondaland and Disney put Elisabeth Finch on leave, and she left the show. Petrez's articles were turned into the docuseries Anatomy of Lies, which dropped on Peacock in October 2024.