‘I Was Embarrassed’: Ben Affleck Apologizes for PBS Slavery Flap
The newly leaked trove of Sony emails reveals that Batman… er, Ben Affleck… pressured PBS into leaving his slave-owning ancestry out of his episode of the series Finding Your Roots. PBS today launched an investigation into the matter, after releasing a statement standing by the episode.
Well, late today Affleck issued a lengthy apology on Facebook. Here’s what he had to say:
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
The “Skip” refers to show host Henry Louis Gates, who issued a statement a few days ago standing by the content of Affleck’s episode and saying they decided to leave that part of the actor’s history on the cutting room floor.
[h/t TheWrap]
[image via screengrab]
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