Ben Affleck Pressured PBS to Edit Out Slave-Owning Grandfather in Ancestry Doc

Ben Affleck Pressured PBS to Edit Out Slave-Owning Grandfather in Ancestry Doc

by Daniel Nussbaum 17 Apr 2015

http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/04/17/ben-affleck-pressured-pbs-to-edit-out-slave-owning-grandfather-in-ancestry-doc/

Ben Affleck asked the producers of PBS’ Finding Your Roots television show to edit out details of an ancestor who owned slaves, according to a Sony internal email exchange leaked this week.

In an email sent to Sony CEO Michael Lynton shortly before the show’s second season premiere, Harvard professor and Finding Your Roots host Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote that an unnamed “megastar” had asked producers to “edit out something about one of his ancestors – the fact that he owned slaves.”

“Now, four or five of our guests this season descend from slave owners, including Ken Burns. We’ve never had anyone ever try to censor or edit what we found,” Gates wrote. “What do we do?”

Lynton responded by asking who else knew about the information in question, advising that “it gets tricky” when editing out material “based on this kind of sensitivity.”

Gates replied that the producers of the show, the star’s PR agents, and PBS already knew about the slave-owning ancestor.

“To do this would be a violation of PBS rules, actually, even for Batman,” Gates wrote.

“[T]hen it is tricky because it may get out that you made the change and it comes down to editorial integrity,” Lynton emailed back. “We can talk when you land.”

In the final email of the exchange, Gates seemed to indicate that the producers of the show would include the information about Affleck’s ancestor.

“Once we open the door to censorship, we lose control of the brand,” Gates wrote.

However, the producers of Finding Your Roots apparently made the change, as Affleck’s slave-owning ancestor is not mentioned during his segment on the program, which aired last September. Instead, Affleck’s segment focuses on the star’s sixth grandfather, Jesse Stanley, who fought in the American Revolution, and another grandfather who served as a mystic during the Civil War. It is also revealed that Affleck is a 10th cousin of fellow actor and childhood friend Matt Damon.

A spokeswoman for Gates issued a statement to the Daily Mail on behalf of the Emmy-nominated producer.

“Ultimately, I maintain editorial control on all of my projects and, with my producers, decide what will make for the most compelling program,” the statement reads. “In the case of Mr. Affleck – we focused on what we felt were the most interesting aspects of his ancestry – including a Revolutionary War ancestor, a 3rd great-grandfather who was an occult enthusiast, and his mother who marched for Civil Rights during the Freedom Summer of 1964.”

PBS issued their own response:

“It is clear from the exchange how seriously Professor Gates takes editorial integrity. He has told us that after reviewing approximately ten hours of footage for the episode, he and his producers made an independent editorial judgement to choose the most compelling narrative. The range and depth of the stories on Finding Your Roots speak for themselves.”

Affleck, who is set to star in this year’s upcoming Batman vs. Superman film, has long been involved in a number of charities and liberal organizations. In 2010, the actor founded the Eastern Congo Initiative, an organization dedicated to ending conflict in the war-torn region.

In October, the actor appeared in a debate on Islam on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, where he accused Maher of being a racist.

The leaked email exchange between Gates and Lynton was found in a set of roughly 30,000 Sony Pictures emails published by Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks. In a statement, Assange justified his organization’s publishing of the emails:

This archive shows the inner workings of an influential multinational corporation,” Assange said. “It is newsworthy and at the centre of a geo-political conflict. It belongs in the public domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there.

The emails appear to be part of a collection of documents stolen from the production company in a 2014 cyber attack against the company by a North Korea-affiliated group called Guardians of Peace.

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck is a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client. 

Note: Barbra Streisand is a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client, and the founder of the Barbra Streisand Foundation.

Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sundance Institute, the Aspen Institute (think tank), the Brookings Institution (think tank), and the People for the American Way.

Michael Lynton is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, the CEO for the Sony Corporation of America, and the chairman & CEO for the Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Leonardo DiCaprio is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and was a board member for the Global Green USA.

Patricia E. Mitchell is a board member for the Global Green USA, the vice chair for the Sundance Institute, and was the president & CEO for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Robert Redford is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the founder & president for the Sundance Institute.

Geoffrey K. Sands is a trustee at the Sundance Institute, and a director at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).  

Robert H. Malott was a board member for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), a Harvard University professor, the editor-in-chief & founder of The Root, and an Oak Bluffs (MA) homeowner.

Was arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. an act of racism?

Originally published July 21, 2009 at 12:00 am Updated July 21, 2009 at 12:15 am

By ABGOODNOUGH

http://www.seattletimes.com/education/was-arrest-of-harvard-scholar-henry-louis-gates-jr-an-act-of-racism/

Spike Lee is an Oak Bluffs (MA) homeowner, and incorrectly tweets address of George Zimmerman.

Spike Lee Incorrectly Tweets Address of George Zimmerman

March 28, 2012

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB

Alyssa Newcomb More from Alyssa via GOOD MORNING AMERICA

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/spike-lee-incorrectly-tweets-address-of-george-zimmerman/

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an Oak Bluffs (MA) homeowner, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Valerie B. Jarrett is Vernon E. Jordan Jr’s great niece, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Rahm I. Emanuel is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Chicago (IL) mayor, Ari Emanuel’s brother, and was the White House chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.

Ari Emanuel is Rahm I. Emanuel’s brother, and the co-CEO & director for William Morris Endeavor Entertainment.

Ben Affleck is a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client, and a friend of Matt Damon.

Matt Damon is a friend of Ben Affleck, and a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client.

Barbra Streisand is a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client, and the founder of the Barbra Streisand Foundation.

Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Michael Lynton is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, the CEO for the Sony Corporation of America, and the chairman & CEO for the Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Margery Tabankin is the treasurer for the Barbra Streisand Foundation, and a director at the People for the American Way.

Seth MacFarlane is a director at the People for the American Way, and a friend of Bill Maher.

Bill Maher is a friend of Seth MacFarlane, and the host for the Real Time With Bill Maher.

Norman Lear is a director at the People for the American Way, and married to Lyn Davis Lear.

Lyn Davis Lear is married to Norman Lear, a trustee at the Sundance Institute, and a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Geoffrey K. Sands is a trustee at the Sundance Institute, and a director at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).  

Barbra Streisand is a trustee at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, a William Morris Endeavor Entertainment client, and the founder of the Barbra Streisand Foundation.

Barbra Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Michael Lynton is a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council, the CEO for the Sony Corporation of America, and the chairman & CEO for the Sony Pictures Entertainment.