White Lie 2021

College student Katie Arneson is living a duplicitous life, having pretended to have cancer for ten long months. Under the guise of illness, she manipulates those around her by taking placebos, shaving her head, and deliberately losing weight to appear more unwell. Her deceit has made her a minor celebrity on campus as she capitalizes on her false condition for both emotional and financial benefit, successfully crowdfunding support while charming friends—including her unsuspecting girlfriend, Jennifer Ellis.

When Katie learns that a crucial university bursary is in jeopardy unless she can produce valid medical records by the week’s end, her world begins to unravel. She turns to a medical resident for help in forging the necessary documents but struggles to come up with the $2,000 he demands without raising suspicions. Feeling the pressure, she reaches out to her estranged father, asking for the funds under the false pretense of attending a special treatment clinic. However, her father sees through her ruse and refuses, accusing Katie of lying about her illness—a painful discovery resurrecting memories of when she faked sickness in high school before her lies were exposed. Despite her father’s sincere plea for her to come clean, she is adamant, choosing to stick with her deception.

In a desperate move, Katie then approaches Jennifer, whose family is affluent. Jennifer willingly agrees to help her, but later that night, Katie finds a worrying message from her father to Jennifer about her fraudulent claims. In a panic, she deletes the message and blocks her father’s number from reaching her girlfriend.

After submitting the forged medical documents, Katie is momentarily relieved and visits Jennifer’s family. However, the relief is short-lived when she discovers that her father has publicly exposed her lies in a Facebook post. In a fraught attempt to salvage her reputation, she consults a friend whose mother is a lawyer, hoping to sue her father to compel him to take down his damaging post. During this conversation, she is horrified to learn that if she is proven to be lying, she could face legal consequences for defrauding her supporters.

As her support system dwindles, Katie spirals deeper into a series of misguided choices that reinforce her deceit. Determined to keep her relationship with Jennifer intact, she dismisses her chance to confess the truth and instead continues to manipulate her devoted partner. When Jennifer expresses her unwavering support and insists on attending all of Katie’s medical appointments, Katie proposes marriage, claiming, “If we marry, I won’t lie, I won’t be sick anymore.” As Katie steps into the studio for a radio segment aimed at restoring her public image, she leaves a stunned Jennifer behind, where emotions run high and the reality of betrayal becomes clearer than ever.