Ben Affleck is apologizing after it came to light that the Academy Award-winning actor and director asked that information be withheld from a PBS show about his family history . After appearing on Finding Your Roots and learning one of his ancestors was a slave owner , Affleck pushed the network to leave that information out of the program it was first revealed by DailyMail.com , a request the producers ultimately agreed to . This enabled Affleck to hide the identity of his ancestor , named today by The Sun as James McGuire , who kept eight slaves on his farm in Trenton in New Jersey in the 1840s . Today the actor apologized for asking producers to leave out the name in a post on Facebook , while also explaining his reasons for his decision . Scroll down for video . Ben Affleck has apologized after he demanded information about a slave-owning relative be withheld from a PBS show about his ancestry . Affleck took to Facebook to issue his apology . 'After an exhaustive search of my ancestry for Finding Your Roots , it was discovered that one of my distant relatives was an owner of slaves , ' wrote Affleck . ' I did n'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 . ' Affleck went on to say he lobbied for that information to be withheld after filming the episode . 'It 's important to remember that this is n'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 explained . '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 . ' He then added ; ' I regret my initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story . We deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors and the degree of interest in this story suggests that we are , as a nation , still grappling with the terrible legacy of slavery . It is an examination well worth continuing . ' US genealogist Debra Fleming is said to have helped trace Affleck 's family tree back to McGuire , a relative of his father Timothy . Ms Fleming told the Sun : 'There are lots of farmers in the family . Slavery did n't end in New Jersey until 1846 . ' Affleck is just one of the many celebrities once again under fire after WikiLeaks sorted all the hacked Sony emails into a system that makes them easier for the public to search . PBS meanwhile is conducting an internal investigation to determine if this omission violated the network 's editorial standards . They have yet to release a statement on their findings . After an exhaustive search of my ancestry for `` Finding Your Roots , '' it was discovered that one of my distant relatives was an owner of slaves . I did n'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 . Skip decided what went into the show . I lobbied him the same way I lobby directors about what takes of mine I think they should use . This is the collaborative creative process . Skip agreed with me on the slave owner but made other choices I disagreed with . In the end , it 's his show and I knew that going in . I 'm proud to be his friend and proud to have participated . It 's important to remember that this is n'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 . 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 . I regret my initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story . We deserve neither credit nor blame for our ancestors and the degree of interest in this story suggests that we are , as a nation , still grappling with the terrible legacy of slavery . It is an examination well worth continuing . I am glad that my story , however indirectly , will contribute to that discussion . While I do n't like that the guy is an ancestor , I am happy that aspect of our country 's history is being talked about . Ben Affleck .
Ben Affleck has apologized after he demanded information about a slave-owning relative be withheld from a PBS show about his ancestry . As DailyMail.com first revealed , producers agreed to the actor 's demand and cut the segment from the program . ' I did n't want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves . I was embarrassed , ' he wrote on Facebook . PBS has launched an internal investigation into whether or not Finding Your Roots violated their editorial standards by allowing this request .