PBS admits Ben Affleck had 'improper influence' on celebrity ancestry series, postpones future seasons


Following an internal review, PBS has concluded that the omission of references to Ben Affleck's slave-owning ancestor in the celebrity genealogy series Finding Your Roots — an omission that was made at Affleck's request — "violated PBS standards by failing to shield the creative and editorial process from improper influence." The episode about Affleck's family history has been pulled, and future seasons of Finding Your Roots have been postponed.
Affleck's request originally came to light as part of the Sony hacks in April 2015, when emails exchanged in July 2014 between Finding Your Roots host Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton were made public. In the emails, Gates explains that Affleck requested his slave-owning ancestor be left out of the episode. Lynton responds by suggesting that Gates should do what Affleck wants — as long as "no one [else] knows."
When the emails were leaked, Ben Affleck took to Facebook to explain why he requested the omission. "I didn't want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves," he wrote. "I was embarrassed. The very thought left a bad taste in my mouth."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Affleck also defended PBS' decision to omit any reference to the slave owner at his request. "It's important to remember that this isn't a news program. Finding Your Roots is a show where you voluntarily provide a great deal of information about your family, making you quite vulnerable," he wrote. "The assumption is that they will never be dishonest but they will respect your willingness to participate and not look to include things you think would embarrass your family."
PBS says producers will now hire "an additional fact-checker and an independent genealogist" as part of a larger plan to "ensure that all future projects will adhere to PBS' editorial guidelines."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
-
An introvert's dream? Flu camps that offer £4,400 to spend two weeks alone
Under The Radar A fortnight in isolation may not be as blissful as it sounds
-
Can Trump put his tariffs on stronger legal footing?
Today's Big Question Appeals court says 'emergency' tariffs are improper
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and Twinless
Feature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play