The star said that he didn't want any television show about his family to include a guy who owned slaves as he was embarrassed and the very thought left a bad taste in his mouth.
Ben Affleck has broken his silence on PBS Show controversy that kicked up after a leaked Sony email revealed that the actor asked that certain information be withheld from the episode of the series Finding Your Roots.
The 42-year-old actor wrote on his Facebook page that after an exhaustive search of his ancestry for 'Finding Your Roots,' it was discovered that one of his distant relatives was an owner of slaves, E! Online reported.
The Gone Girl star added that he didn't want any television show about his family to include a guy who owned slaves as he was embarrassed and the very thought left a bad taste in his mouth.
Affleck noted that Skip (Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.) decided what went into the show, confessing that he lobbied him the same way he lobbies directors about what takes of his he thinks they should use.
He said that this is the collaborative creative process and Skip agreed with him on the slave owner but made other choices he disagreed with. In the end, it's his show and he knew that going in, adding that he is proud to be his friend and proud to have participated.
He continued that Finding Your Roots is a show where people voluntarily provide a great deal of information about their family, making you quite vulnerable and added that he regrets his initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story.
Affleck said they deserve neither credit nor blame for their ancestors and the degree of interest in this story suggests that they are, as a nation, still grappling with the terrible legacy of slavery. It is an examination well worth continuing.
He concluded "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."
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