Familial histories are something that cannot be altered no matter how much fame you garner. Edward Norton, the notable actor, and filmmaker found himself embarrassed and at a loss for words when he discovered his family owned slaves at a point in history.
In the show’s upcoming episode titled Finding Your Roots, The Incredible Hulk actor is seen describing the feeling as “uncomfortable”.
Edward Norton Felt Uncomfortable Talking About Enslavement
Edward Norton has been described as a fantastic actor for his abilities. Known for his peculiar roles in Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the actor is loved by millions.
While on the show called Finding Your Roots, Edward Norton sat to know about the history of his ancestors. Although the knowledge was horrifying to hear for the Primal Fear actor, it was historically proven that his family owned slaves at some point in history.
Historian and host Henry Louis Gates Jr showed Norton a photo of a family of people presumed to be slaves to Edward Norton’s forebearers. When asked about what he felt seeing the image, here’s what Norton replied,
“The short answer is, these things are uncomfortable, and you should be uncomfortable with them. Everybody should be uncomfortable with it. It’s not a judgment on you and your own life but it’s a judgment on the history of this country. It needs to be acknowledged first and foremost, and then it needs to be contended with.
The actor further felt sorry for the human lives that were trapped during this time period and stated how each one of them was a human being.
“When you go away from census counts and you personalize things, you’re talking about, possibly, a husband and wife with five girls — and these girls are slaves. Born into slavery. Yeah. Again, when you read ‘slave aged eight,’ you just want to die.”
Furthermore, it has been revealed that Edward Norton isn’t the only one fixed in this chaotic soup since many notable celebrities faced some backlash for their ancestors owning slaves.
Edward Norton Joins Alongside Benedict Cumberbatch And More
In recent reports, Benedict Cumberbatch faced a compensation claim from a family in Barbados since their ancestors worked as slaves on Cumberbatch’s seventh great-grandfather’s plantation. Not only is the MCU actor involved but notable DCU actor Ben Affleck also seems to be involved in the controversial news.
Back in 2015, Ben Affleck tried to stop the spreading of news that his ancestors indeed owned slaves. Following the infamous Sony e-mail leak, the news spread like wildfire following which the Justice League actor had to apologize.
Finding Your Roots is available to stream on PBS.
Source: Metro
