ACTOR Ben Affleck has confronted accusations that he tried to cover up the fact that his ancestors were slave-owners.
In a Facebook post, the Gone Girl actor said he was embarrassed when he found out that one of his kin had been involved in the slave trade.
The revelation came about while Affleck was taking part in one of those TV programs that looks into your family background. He asked the team to take it out, and they did. However this has now damaged the credibility of the show.
In a post explaining his actions Affleck said: “I didn’t want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves. The very thought left a bad taste in my mouth.’
He didn’t apologise for the censorship, however, saying that his agreement with the program was that it wouldn’t include anything that ‘would embarrass your family.’
Curiously, when the same thing happened to TV anchor Anderson Cooper a few years ago, he copped it on the chin. When people asked if he was embarrassed to discover that his family owned slaves, he said of course he was, but that was nothing compared to the suffering of the slaves, so he was very willing to bear it.
In other news you may have missed…
THE death toll from the terrible NSW storm has risen to at least eight.
Four people have died in three separate car accidents following Sydney’s brutal storms over the past few days, due to poor road visibility throughout NSW.
One woman has drowned after her tiny silver Hyundai was lifted by rising waters and swept into a swollen river. Frantic witnesses tried to save her, but the car was washed away.
Many people are still isolated in their properties. Trees are down, power is out, infrastructure is ruined and the weather bureau warns that more bad weather is on the way. Stay safe, Sydney.
YOU may have a million dollars in your superannuation account. But don’t feel flush just yet. It’s not enough.
Superannuation industry veteran, Jeremy Cooper, tells The Financial Review that $1 million in super at current rates of interest will deliver an annual income of $33,000 a year, and to his mind, that is not a ‘comfortable retirement.’
BILL Spedding has been arrested for child sex offences.
Those who have been following the William Tyrell case will recognise this name: Mr Bill Spedding is the same man that NSW police named as a ‘person of interest’ in the disappearance of three-year-old William Tyrell, who went missing while playing outside a house in Kendall last year.
To be clear, Mr Spedding, who was due to fix a washing machine at that house that day, has not been charged in relation to William’s disappearance.
In a statement, NSW police said that detectives arrested him in relation to the sexual assaults of two girls in Sydney more than 30 years ago.
HOW much exercise is enough? We may have an answer.
An exhaustive study in today’s New York Times
says the ‘ideal dose’ of exercise is more than you are probably doing but not quite as much as you might think.
Translated, that means an hour a day is the sweet spot. And, yes, it can just be walking. People who don’t exercise at all are in for it, the study proclaims: early death awaits.
IT has been some time since the world has witnessed a great bank heist, especially these days when most robberies take place in cyberspace.
Police have today released pictures of a massive hole bored through the walls of a safety deposit centre in the financial capital of central London.
Crooks managed to made off with $300 million in jewels. They’re still at large.
MONTHS after the controversial knighthood was first appointed by Tony Abbott, Prince Phillip has finally received it from none other than the Queen herself. The Queen presented her husband with his Australian knighthood at a ceremony in Windsor castle.
The duke’s citation said: “For three-quarters of a century, Prince Philip has served the Crown, and the wider Commonwealth.
“He has served Australia with distinction and is patron of over 800 organisations.”
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