"I was embarassed": Ben Affleck apologizes or asking PBS to censor unfortunate piece of family history
buzzz worthy. . .
PBS is now doing an internal investigation into Ben Affleck covering up he had a slave owning ancestor in "Finding Our Roots," hosted by Henry "Skip" Louis Gates. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the actor-director apologized, writing he was "embarrassed" by the discovery. He admitted to influencing the edit, but claims the host was ultimately responsible for the final edit that aired.
The episode in question aired last October, but the news that Affleck asked the show to hide his ancestor came out through hacked Sony emails made public last week by WikiLeaks.
“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,” Affleck wrote.
“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."
