Ben Affleck took to Facebook on Tuesday, April 21 to explain why he lobbied PBS executives to remove his slave-owning ancestors from an episode of "Finding Your Roots," Time reports.

Affleck explained that he was embarrassed by the history of his ancestry and the realization of his ancestors owning slaves "left a bad taste in his mouth."

The "Batman" actor revealed that he asked a PBS executive to omit his slave-owning ancestors the same way he does with other TV shows and films that he's involved with. And while Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. agreed with him to remove the segment about his slave-owning ancestors, he decided to leave certain parts of Affleck's story that the actor did not like.

"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," he wrote.

He 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."

Affleck's apology comes on the heels of a leaked email correspondence between PBS host Gates Jr. and Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton discussing Ben Affleck's request to omit his slave-owning ancestors from the PBS show "Finding Your Roots," the Huffington Post reported at the time.

"Finding Your Roots" host, Gates, then discussed the matter with Lynton via email. He expressed his hesitancy over obliging to Affleck's request as he noted that editing certain parts of the episode go against PBS policy.

Gates also mentioned the fact that "Now, four or five of our guests this season descend from slave owners, including Ken Burns." He also mentioned that Affleck's ancestor "wasn't even a bad guy" in comparison to other ancestors they've come across on the show.

Still, Lynton advised Gates to oblige by "megastar" Affleck's request.

Gates has since released a statement obtained by the New York Daily News that reads, "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 also released a statement to support Gates' decision. PBS described the edit as an "independent editorial judgment" that it fully stands by.

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