LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Actor Ben Affleck said Tuesday he regretted asking a PBS documentary show profiling his ancestors to not include a relative who was an owner of slaves, saying he was embarrassed by the revelation.
Affleck’s ancestry was traced by Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr, known as Skip, for an episode in the second season of his Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series “Finding Your Roots,” in which well-known personalities can discover more about their family history.
“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 said in a statement on his Facebook page.
“I regret my initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story,” he added.
