Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

   An email exchange in a newly published database of hacked Sony Pictures documents looks to be embarrassing for Ben Affleck and PBS. Affleck had demanded that the show Finding Your Roots withhold the nugget that he had a slave-owning ancestor. The pressure appeared to be successful, because when the Affleck episode aired, it made no mention of the relative. The revelation is courtesy of an email written by host Henry Louis Gates Jr. to Sony chief Michael Lynton seeking advice on how to handle the situation.

            HENRY LOUIS GATES JR.                                        BEN AFFLECK

   Affleck has expressed regret for seeking to have the information omitted from the episode that featured the actor and aired last October. Meanwhile, Gates offered his concern that once they open the door to censorship, they lose control of the brand. With the emails now public, he released a statement:

Ultimately, I maintain editorial control on all of my projects and, with my producers, decide what will make for the most compelling program. 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.

   Finding Your Roots is a public affairs program that highlights the genealogy of notable personalities, such as Robert Downey Jr., Anderson Cooper, and Ken Burns. PBS backed its host up, praising Gates’ integrity and saying the quality of the stories on his show speak for themselves.

   As a precaution, PBS will conduct an internal review following revelations that producers of Finding Your Roots may have violated the network’s editorial standards. I’m quite sure the public will chime in with an opinion over the decision.

   And, so it goes…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 18th, 2015 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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