Hacked emails: Affleck asked PBS not to reveal slave-owning ancestor; PBS says not censorship

Ben Affleck requested that the PBS documentary series "Finding Your Roots" not reveal he had a slave-owning ancestor, according to emails published online by whistleblower site WikiLeaks, and the information never appeared on the program.

PBS and the show's host Henry Louis Gates say they didn't censor the slave-owner details. They say more interesting ancestors of the actor emerged and Gates chose to highlight them in the October segment.

They discuss their thinking surrounding the show in statements posted on the PBS website.

Wikileaks has put hundreds of thousands of emails and documents from last year's Sony hack into a searchable online archive. Among them, Gates asks Sony Pictures co-chairman and chief executive Michael Lynton how to handle star's request.

Affleck's rep didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.