Life Lessons from Ben Affleck’s Slave-Owning Ancestor Saga

Last updated on: June 9, 2015 at 9:59 pm by Sean Lowe

Life Lessons from Ben Affleck’s Slave-Owning Ancestor Saga 2015-06-09T21:59:11-04:00 Sean Lowe

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

View image | gettyimages.com

Does your family have any dark secrets hiding in the past? What if they were discovered and aired on national television?

That’s what happened to Ben Affleck when he went on PBS’ documentary series “Finding Your Roots.” The show uncovered that one of his ancestors was a slave owner, just like Anderson Cooper, Derek Jeter, and Ken Burns had also discovered. The idea made Affleck so ashamed, though, he asked the executive producer, Henry “Skip” Gates Jr., to leave it out of the show when it aired.

He agreed, and the skeleton would have stayed in the closet – except Sony’s emails were hacked, and the news came out anyway.

“Ultimately, I maintain editorial control on all of my projects and, with my producers, decide what will make for the most compelling program,” Gates said in a statement. And Affleck had plenty of other respectable and colorful ancestors – “including a Revolutionary War ancestor, a 3rd great–grandfather who was an occult enthusiast, and his mother who marched for Civil Rights during the Freedom Summer of 1964.”

Affleck released a statement explaining his thinking behind the request: “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.” He made his request just like he’d lobby a director to keep or cut certain shots in a movie.

Previous Post

April 16, 2015

That Time I Crashed a Bachelor Viewing Party and It Broke My Heart: My "Micaela's Army" Story

Next Post

April 24, 2015 Why You Should Never Say: “I Just Want to Make You Happy.”

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Nahum describes the Lord as riding in the whirlwind and storms. What does he say are the clouds?

Select your answer to see how you score.

His chariot His covering The dust of his feet His glory