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First, let me start by reiterating that we don’t cover celebrity gossip at ThoughtWidget; nor do we engage in celebrity worship. However, the revelations about actor Ben Affleck’s slave-holding ancestor are a multi-faceted commentary on politics and the news media. It was revealed this week that Affleck asked Henry Louis Gates, the host of the genealogy show Finding Your Roots, to remove the segment of an episode featuring Affleck that revealed the ancestor. The episode aired in October on PBS, but the removal of the segment remained a secret until WikiLeaks published emails on the subject between Gates and a Sony executive.
Here are the 4 reasons I wish I had not heard about this:
1. This is Considered Newsworthy?
Heavily covered by video and print media, this story is really just about an actor trying to hide an embarrassing family secret. Yes, he also makes news because he is politically active, but nobody would pay attention to his activism either were he not a “megastar”, as Gates put it. The story would have gotten little attention without Affleck’s uber-celebrity status.
2. How the Information Was Obtained
Once again, news organizations have feasted on information gleaned from private emails that were obtained illegally. We’re not talking just about the National Enquirer or People magazine – every major news organization has covered the story. Nor is this a topic vital to the public interest – it’s simply celebrity gossip. They simply can’t resist a story that will draw readers, viewers, and clicks.
The emails in question are part of the same trove of Sony emails from a December hacking blamed on North Korea. Back then, morning news anchors and talking heads giggled and tsked about the revelations that some Sony Pictures execs found Angelina Jolie tiresome and made mildly racist jokes about the President. How could we get by without that knowledge?
One wonders what would happen if the secrets of large news organizations were revealed in such a way. What scandalous little nuggets would be uncovered? How enthusiastically would the mainstream media pounce?
3. Affleck’s Cover-Up
The part of this story that puzzles the most if why Affleck wanted the information suppressed. It is well known that his mother was active in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and that Affleck himself is a liberal activist. So why did it matter enough to Affleck to want it kept secret?
It could stem from ideas about class and privilege popular among left-wing activists. Affleck may consider himself a product of privilege and part of the oppressing class. Membership in that class would be conferred automatically because of his wealth and the color of his skin. Also, he is not a generation or two descended from immigrants. His deep roots in America (at least back to the Revolution, according to Gates) raise additional suspicions about him. His ancestors undoubtedly had many opportunities to oppress all sorts: Native Americans, Italians, Slavs, Jews, etc. But to be revealed as a descendant of a wealthy and influential enslaver of 25 African-Americans could be more than his reputation and ego could handle.
Would it result in demands for acts of contrition? A public humbling? Demonstrators outside of his mansion, demanding reparations?
But really, what difference does it make? Does it matter what anyone’s 5th generation ancestor did? No, it doesn’t. Unless you believe in class responsibility. We can feel badly that slavery existed in our country so far into its existence; but nobody should feel personally guilty about it because none of us had anything to do with it. All that participated in this unfortunate practice have been dead for decades.
A lengthy statement on his Facebook page ends with a sentence typically heard from the busted: “… I am happy that aspect of our country’s history is being talked about.”
4. The Reaction by Henry Louis Gates
In today’s Age of Denial, Gates’ response to the scandal was predictable. The Harvard don, in spite of his statements in the leaked emails and other evidence, denied editing the segment because of Affleck’s request. Instead, his statement claimed that it was removed in favor of other more interesting aspects of the star’s genealogy. The good professor should run for office.
