Ben Affleck reveals Name of Slave-owning Ancestor

Ben Affleck revealed the name of his slave owning ancestor on Twitter!

Ben Affleck revealed the name of his slave owning ancestor himself on Twitter after it came to light the actor had asked the PBS show ‘Finding your Roots’ to omit the information.

In his tweet, Affleck wrote a lot of people have been asking him what was the name of the guy and revealed his slave owning ancestor was named Benjamin Cole. Affleck also shared Benjamin Cle lived in Georgia and was related to him from his mother’s side six generations ago. 

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.— Ben Affleck (@BenAffleck) April 22, 2015

Affleck appeared on the PBS show ‘Finding You Roots’ last year in October. The Sony email hack revealed exchanges between Sony Entertainment Chairman Michael Lynton and producer Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. the host of ‘Finding Your Roots’ which disclosed Affleck interference. 

Affleck later issued an apology on his Facebook and admitted he was ashamed by his ancestor as a slave owner, his embarrassment made him ask the Professor to edit out the part about his ancestor.

The actor further revealed he didn’t want any TV show to relate him to a man who owned slaves and the thought had left a bad taste in his mouth.  Affleck further stated he regrets his decision for asking the omission and no one deserved credit and blame for their ancestors.

And the extent of interest shown in his story shows how the nation is still dealing with the legacy of slavery. Even if Affleck doesn’t like his ancestor for having owned slaves he is happy such an aspect of their country’s history is being talked about openly. 

The Gawker acquired a script of the episode featuring Ben Affleck in which we can read the dialogue between the Harvard Professor and Affleck as they discuss Affleck’s slave owning past and how the family has changed since then from his mother’s side