In a leaked Sony email, posted on the Wikileaks website this week (beg13Apr15), show host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. asks Sony chief Michael Lynton for advice on how to handle Affleck's request.

He wrote, "For the first time, one of our guests has asked us to edit out something about one of his ancestors - the fact that he owned slaves...

"We've never had anyone ever try to censor or edit what we found. He's a megastar. What do we do?"

Responding to Gates, Jr., Lynton wrote, "I would take it out if no one knows, but if it gets out that you are editing the material based on this kind of sensitivity then it gets tricky. Again, all things being equal, I would definitely take it out."

Affleck has not commented on the leaked emails, but Gates, Jr. is now defending his decision to exclude the information from the show.

A statement from Gates, Jr. reads, "The mission of Finding Your Roots is to find and share interesting stories from our celebrity guests' ancestries and use those stories to unlock new ways to learn about our past. We are very grateful to all of our guests for allowing us into their personal lives and have told hundreds of stories in this series, including many about slave ancestors - never shying away from chapters of a family's past that might be unpleasant.

"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."