As Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez held a three-day wedding celebration over the weekend, their Georgia venue raised eyebrows.
The couple wed at Affleck’s sprawling Georgia estate, an “imitation” plantation-style property that sits on 6,000 square feet.
Ben purchased the property in 2003 and the couple initially planned to host their wedding there in 2004, before they called off their engagement.
And whilst some thought keeping the same wedding venue was a sweet nod to the couple’s long history – many others rightfully had questions about the site’s murky past.
Whilst the property itself is not an original plantation, many fans have pointed out the sordid past of Ben’s distant relatives – with Ben attempting to suppress details of his family history.
In 2015 the television series Finding Your Roots discovered that Ben Affleck had a relative on his mother’s side who owned several slaves.
Leaked emails revealed Affleck tried to cover up the details, asking the show to instead focus on his mother’s history as a freedom rider during the Civil Rights movement.
In a Facebook post, Ben explained his decision to cut the scenes from the show, writing, “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.”
“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.”
Not only did Ben attempt to hide these details, but he also attempted to sell his Georgia mansion – however, even after lowering the price the actor struggled to hand off the property.
A year later the actor eventually took the property off the market.
The Georgian mansion was built in 2000 and has been described as an “imitation plantation,” the land was originally home to a rice plantation known as Hampton Pastures.
Leslie Harris, co-editor of Slavery and Freedom in Savannah explained the issue with Ben and Jennifer’s wedding venue to Page Six, explaining, “when he discovered who his ancestors were he tried to squelch it… It’s clear he didn’t learn his lesson. We’re back at the same place with him.’
“People still build houses that are plantation style. It’s a sign of wealth. It’s surprising that Affleck would choose this place for his wedding when many [historic] plantations have stopped even having weddings.”
Ben and Jennifer are not the first celebs to be called out for plantation-inspired wedding venues.
In 2012 Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively made headlines for their wedding on a former slave plantation in South Carolina.
The couple apologised in an interview in 2020, telling Fast Company, “It’s something we’ll always be deeply and unreservedly sorry for…It’s impossible to reconcile.”