Yuri Gripas
Ben Affleck revealed the identity of his slaveholding ancestor on Twitter today: “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.” Affleck was revealed to have tried to hide this from his segment on PBS’ Finding Your Roots. “I didn’t want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves,” Affleck said in a statement posted to Facebook. “I was embarrassed. The very thought left a bad taste in my mouth.” Affleck went on to say he regretted asking the show to hide part of his family’s ancestry, but that he is “happy that aspect of our country’s history is being talked about.” The revelation about the actor’s request was discovered through hacked Sony emails published by WikiLeaks last week.