Grey’s Anatomy star Camilla Luddington unwittingly found herself in the headlines a couple of years ago when one of the medical drama’s writers was exposed for having lied about her cancer and other traumas that inspired major storylines. The Elisabeth Finch scandal was explored in depth in a recent docuseries to hit the 2024 TV schedule, Anatomy of Lies, and after being name-dropped several times in the three-parter, Luddington shared her candid thoughts about the situation.
Anatomy of Lies, which can be streamed with a Peacock subscription, dives into how Elisabeth Finch lied her way to the head of the Grey’s Anatomy writers room to become a co-executive producer. She apparently worked closely with many of the actors, including Camilla Luddington, who declined to be part of the docuseries. However, the Jo Wilson portrayer did address the scandal on her and Jessica Capshaw’s podcast Call It What It Is, saying:
You watch these documentaries on Dateline, and you’re always — I’m like this — I’m like, ‘I would have known.’ Right? Like, I would know that person’s lying. And then you have an experience where it basically feels like you’re in a Dateline documentary. And you realize, like, I did not know. I truly did not know.
Elisabeth Finch is the inspiration behind Debbie Allen’s Catherine Fox living with cancer, and Finch also wrote one of Grey’s Anatomy’s best episodes, Season 15’s “Silent All These Years,” in which Jo learns she was conceived in rape. According to former writer Kiley Donovan on Anatomy of Lies, it was Donovan who had the traumatic past, which she had allegedly shared with Finch in confidence, not expecting it to show up in one of Finch's scripts. Finch, meanwhile, has said the rape story was Camilla Luddington’s idea.
The actress did not provide any clarity on the story’s origins, saying she didn’t feel comfortable talking about her on-set interactions with Elisabeth Finch (whose name she even refused to say). Luddington chose instead to speak to how the entire situation affected her mental health. She continued:
I think that that kind of throws you for a loop, because then you feel like your own instinct on stuff is way off, and so it makes you question — this is what I don’t like about it — it makes you start questioning yourself. Like, you’re not just questioning that person now. It’s like, why didn’t I see that? How did I believe that? And I don’t like the self-doubt.
Camilla Luddington went on to say that learning of all the lies has affected her ability to trust others, and co-host Jessica Capshaw — aka Grey’s Anatomy’s Arizona Robbins — added that she also had believed everything Elisabeth Finch said and never had a moment of suspicion.
While Jessica Capshaw said she is generally an optimistic person, when it comes to this situation and people who “show themselves to be liars,” she’s less willing to give grace:
I’m a little cutthroat when it comes to this shit. When you lie about who you are, when you do things to hurt people with your words, I’m a little, like, done with you. And listen, I believe in forgiveness. That’s a very personal thing, and that’s relationship-specific, but I mean, I do think when a documentary like this comes out, and obviously she’s so exposed, I’m a little like, ‘What did you think was gonna happen?’
Anatomy of Lies tells a story that’s truly stranger than fiction, because the lengths Elisabeth Finch went to in order to perpetuate her lies are really unbelievable. While Jessica Capshaw reassured Camillia Luddington that the writer was the only person who had done anything wrong, Luddington clearly didn’t like being so closely associated with the story, saying:
I do not like us all getting caught up in it, though. It sucks to be part of the story. It’s uncomfortable to be part of the story.
Elisabeth Finch is no longer part of the Grey’s Anatomy team, but the stories she gave to the characters still exist, with Catherine’s cancer playing a pretty big part in Season 21 so far. You can stream Anatomy of Lies on Peacock and catch Camilla Luddington on the current season of Grey’s, which airs at 10 p.m. ET Thursdays on ABC.