Ben Affleck is currently in hot water as the actor reportedly influenced the facts to be aired in PBS' program hosted by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., titled "Finding Your Roots," according to E Online. The issue came to light when it was recently revealed that the show chose to omit the part of Affleck's ancestry that pertained to his family owning slaves.
While the omission in itself already raised eyebrows and caused the show's authenticity to be questioned, reports are now surfacing that the actor himself asked Gates to delete the said finding when the episode airs. Consequently, this prompted PBS to take action and Wednesday saw the postponement of the series' third season, according to Chicago Tribune.
The decision to postpone the show's airing in the channel came after an intensive investigation which later on revealed that Affleck's request affected the editorial process. In effect, "Finding Your Roots" also violated the editorial guidelines set forth by PBS themselves. Hence, the network decided to withdraw the episode featuring Affleck and banned it from getting aired in any form including digital platforms and home video. In addition, "Finding Your Roots" was required to hire another researcher as well as an independent genealogist in an effort to avoid the same incident and preserve the show's integrity.
Meanwhile, Affleck took to social media to address the controversy.
"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," Affleck writes in his official Facebook page. He goes on to say, "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."
The "Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice" actor then explains the process by which the decision was made. He says, "Skip [Gates] 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."
Apart from the Facebook post, Affleck also took to Twitter to finally reveal the identity of his slave-owning ancestor. He posted, "Lots of people have been asking who the guy was. His name was Benjamin Cole - lived in Georgia on my Mom's side about six generations back."
Lots of people have been asking who the guy was. His name was Benjamin Cole - lived in Georgia on my Mom's side about six generations back.
"” Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) April 22, 2015
