Ben Affleck has responded to the accusations that he asked PBS producers on "Finding Your Roots" to not include his slave-owning ancestry on the program.
Affleck expressed regret over wanting to hide that information in a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday evening.
After an exhaustive search of my ancestry for "Finding Your Roots," it was discovered that one of my distant relatives was an owner of slaves.
I didn't want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves. I was embarrassed. The very thought left a bad taste in my mouth.
Skip decided what went into the show. I lobbied him the same way I lobby directors about what takes of mine I think they should use. This is the collaborative creative process. Skip agreed with me on the slave owner but made other choices I disagreed with. In the end, it's his show and I knew that going in. I'm proud to be his friend and proud to have participated.
It's important to remember that this isn't a news program. Finding Your Roots is a show where you voluntarily provide a great deal of information about your family, making you quite vulnerable. The assumption is that they will never be dishonest but they will respect your willingness to participate and not look to include things you think would embarrass your family.
I regret my initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story. We deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors and the degree of interest in this story suggests that we are, as a nation, still grappling with the terrible legacy of slavery. It is an examination well worth continuing. I am glad that my story, however indirectly, will contribute to that discussion. While I don't like that the guy is an ancestor, I am happy that aspect of our country's history is being talked about.
Ben Affleck
Emails leaked in the Sony hack revealed the "Batman v Superman" actor made the request to the "Finding Your Roots" host, Henry Louis Gates, last summer. Gates and the show instead chose another ancestor from the Civil War era and Affleck's mother who was a "freedom rider" in 1964.
"We decided to go with the story we used about his fascinating ancestor who became on occultist following the Civil War. This guy's story was totally unusual: we had never discovered someone like him before," Gates told The Associated Press.
Affleck has done substantial humanitarian work in the Eastern Congo of Africa. The People's Choice Awards recently honored him with the Favorite Humanitarian Award.
