Affleck expresses regret for asking PBS to whitewash slave-owning ancestry
NEW YORK » PBS is conducting an internal review following revelations that producers of "Finding Your Roots" may have violated the network’s editorial standards following a request by Ben Affleck that the program not reveal he had a slave-owning ancestor.
Meanwhile, the actor has expressed regret for asking to have the information omitted from the episode that featured him and aired last October.
Affleck posted on his Facebook page Tuesday night that he was "embarrassed" to have a show about his family "include a guy who owned slaves," but added, "We deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors."
The review by PBS and station WNET began Saturday, according to a statement released Tuesday by PBS.
Affleck’s request came to light last week in hacked Sony emails published online by whistleblower site WikiLeaks.