text: 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 didn'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 isn'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 didn'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 didn'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 isn'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 don't like that the guy is an ancestor, I am happy that aspect of our country's history is being talked about. Ben Affleck .
target: 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 didn'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 .