Top 20 Most Awkward Moments on Finding Your Roots

The grandparents of CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell immigrated from Ireland to the U.S., where they met and got married. O’Donnell’s grandmother, Mary Monaghan, came to America at 23, and managed to build a life for herself, eventually becoming a naturalized citizen. However, Monaghan’s citizenship was unexpectedly revoked– not because she committed any violent crime or act of treason, but because she told a little lie. Since her husband, O’Donnell’s grandfather, was still an undocumented immigrant, Monaghan lied about her marital status to protect him from being deported. Call it a white lie or a loving fib, but for O’Donnell, it was a surprising revelation that made her reevaluate how she viewed her grandmother.

When Van Halen lead singer Sammy Hagar appeared on “Finding Your Roots,” he made some shocking discoveries, but none left him quite as bewildered as this one. The show’s researchers unearthed an 1850 census document, which revealed that Hagar’s great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth, was raising her kids alone. Oddly enough, her husband was alive and well, living in a neighboring county with his own mother. To untangle this mystery, they tested Hagar’s DNA and found that he shared no biological connection to the Hagar family. Instead, he was genetically linked to 27 men with the surname Belcher. Host Henry Louis Gates Jr. speculated that Elizabeth may have had an affair, which prompted her husband to leave her and move in with his mother.

Bitter family disputes are nothing new. They have occurred for centuries, plaguing both royal elites and regular folks alike. In the season seven premiere, filmmaker John Waters learned about a conflict within his own family. After the death of her husband, Waters’ great-grandmother Bertha Whitaker was dragged to court by her mother-in-law Mary. This fight was over custody of Bertha’s young son, Clifford and, as is the case with many other families, money matters. Mary argued that Bertha had “an ungovernable temper” and lacked the resources to raise the child. However, the court disagreed, granting Bertha custody of Clifford and even giving her a chunk of the family fortune. It’s the kind of riveting twist you’d find in a John Waters film.

When you go digging into your family tree, you might not be entirely thrilled with what you find. No one knows this better than actor and TV host LeVar Burton. Burton, who rose to prominence for playing enslaved protagonist Kunta Kinte in the 1977 miniseries “Roots,” discovered his own roots trace back to a white farmer named James Henry Dixon. To make things even more awkward, Burton learned that Dixon had served with the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. To say that he was shocked by these revelations would be an understatement. However, he did manage to find a silver lining, acknowledging that it could help ease his conversations with white people in America.

Long before the Salem witch trials in the late 17th century, individuals across Europe, especially women, faced accusations of witchcraft. One of such women was Neil Patrick Harris’ 12th great-grandmother, Gertrude Stuell. In 16th century Germany, Stuell was accused of enchanting her neighbor’s livestock to kill them, and she was placed on trial for her life. Sadly, the proceedings ended with Stuell being found guilty of practicing witchcraft and sentenced to death. You’d think this tragic family history would provoke a somber reaction, but instead Harris seemed oddly thrilled by the idea of his ancestor being burned at the stake. Even more unsettling, he drew a connection between Stuell’s accusation of black magic to his own love of magic.

It can be astounding how little one knows about their own family history. For comedian Larry David, this truth hit hard when he went on the show, hoping to learn more about his mother, Rose, who he admits was notoriously secretive. As the researchers sifted through historical records, they unearthed a document showing that his grandmother had a daughter named Regina. But David was puzzled; he never had an Aunt Regina. Did she die, change her name or simply vanish? Well, no. Turns out David’s mother, Rose, was actually born Regina, a fact he was completely unaware of. Whatever reason she had for the name change, Rose took it to her grave, leaving her son utterly confused.

In the season 10 premiere, Ciara stumbled upon a family secret involving her great-great-grandmother, Emily Redding. The singer’s DNA test showed a biological connection to Redding and her son, Willie Head, but not to Willie’s supposed father, Nathan. To add to the surprise, the results also linked Ciara to several other people, all of whom were white. Further investigation revealed Willie’s actual father: a white man named Walker Lafayette Head. Apparently, Walker and Nathan lived near each other around the time Willie was conceived. Whether Walker and Redding’s relationship was consensual is unknown, but Ciara seemed to believe it was. However, considering the societal dynamics back then, that might not have been very likely.

TV host Sunny Hostin was born in 1968 to a Puerto Rican mother and an African American father, so she always believed her heritage was half Puerto Rican. However, when she appeared on “Finding Your Roots” in February 2024, she got an unexpected surprise. Hostin learned she was only 7 percent indigenous Puerto Rican and that she descended from a Spanish merchant who, it turns out, most likely participated in the slave trade. This revelation contrasted with her political beliefs, leaving her feeling a mix of shock and disappointment. Despite this, she admitted that the discovery enriched her understanding of her family’s history, even though it didn’t necessarily change her perspective.

Getting told by your parents that you’re adopted can be earth-shattering for anyone. Now, imagine making such a discovery years after they’ve passed away, on a TV show, no less. That’s exactly what happened to rapper LL Cool J and his mother, Ondrea Griffith, on “Finding Your Roots.” After his parents split up in his childhood, LL was raised by his maternal grandparents, who supported his musical ambitions. But one secret they hid was that his mother was not their biological child. Even Griffith didn’t know this, only learning about it through the show. The news was so sensitive that host Henry Louis Gates Jr. had to first call LL privately, away from the cameras, to break it to him.

Discovering that one’s ancestors owned slaves can be embarrassing for some people. It was this sense of shame that pushed actor Ben Affleck to a drastic point. Affleck appeared on the show in 2014, where he learned that his maternal ancestor, Benjamin Cole, was a slave owner in Georgia. The revelation unsettled him so much that he went to great lengths to keep it hidden. Affleck successfully lobbied Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the show’s producers to omit this information from the aired episode. However, the infamous Sony Pictures hack that year unearthed emails that revealed Affleck’s efforts to suppress the truth. The ensuing controversy led to the show being temporarily suspended, although it returned after Affleck apologized for his actions.

You might be familiar with the British practice of sending convicts to Australia during the 18th and 19th centuries. But did you know that before Australia, the primary destination for British prisoners was actually America? If this fact didn’t come as a surprise to you, it definitely did for award-winning actress Laura Linney. When she appeared on the show in 2019, Linney discovered that her fifth great-grandfather, William Linney, had been convicted in England of receiving stolen goods and was transported to Virginia in 1768. Probably not the most flattering information to learn about one’s ancestor, but Linney took it in stride with a hearty laugh.

Laura Linney was not the only celebrity to uncover their ancestor’s criminal background. In another episode, veteran broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien was also hit with a mortifying revelation about her third great-grandmother, Lillius Wightman. Host Henry Louis Gates, Jr presented O’Brien with a prison register from 19th century Scotland, revealing that a 41-year-old Wightman had been arrested for robbery alongside a group of teenage boys. It soon became clear that Wightman might have been leading a gang of young thieves in Edinburgh, Scotland. This theory seemed to embarrass O’Brien initially, but when they dug deeper into the actual reason why Wightman resorted to crime, her perspective changed.

The name Julia Roberts is instantly recognizable to millions around the world, but what if we told you it’s actually not her biological name? The Oscar-winning actress derived her surname from Willis Roberts, her supposed great-great-grandfather. However, genealogical research uncovered a discrepancy: Julia’s great-grandfather, John, was born more than a decade after Willis passed away. This meant that the actress couldn’t be biologically related to Willis Roberts. Through DNA analysis, the show eventually traced her ancestry to a man named Henry McDonald Mitchell Jr., a married man who lived only a few miles away from Willis’ wife, Rhoda. Despite the biological inaccuracy, we still think ‘Julia Roberts’ has a much better ring to it than ‘Julia Mitchell’.

During the era of slavery, people who were enslaved were typically omitted from census records. However, during her appearance on “Finding Your Roots” in 2021, actress and producer Issa Rae discovered documents that identified her third great-grandfather, Dorson Charbonnet, by name. This was due to the fact that Charbonnet’s mother, Mélite, had been granted freedom by her owner, who also happened to be a black man. Additionally, Rae learned that Charbonnet’s father was a white man who had his own family, but engaged in a clandestine relationship with Mélite. If this all felt like a convoluted television B-plot, then you’re not alone. Even Rae shared the same sentiment.

Gayle King’s family harbored a long-held secret concerning her maternal grandmother, Emma Brown. It was revealed that Brown was the product of a white father and a black mother, a fact seemingly concealed out of shame, at least according to King. The genealogists at “Finding Your Roots” were able to trace King’s ancestry back to Robert Elliot Copes, a white man from South Carolina and Emma Brown’s grandfather. This discovery unveiled King’s European ancestry, which comprises over 30% of her genetic makeup. However, when the results of this DNA analysis were revealed to her at the end of the episode, King didn’t seem to be very pleased with them.

You’d be shocked to learn what some of your ancestors were up to. That probably should be the tagline for “Finding Your Roots.” In 2023, the show delivered yet another jaw-dropping revelation, this time to political activist Angela Davis. Throughout her lengthy career, Davis gained a fierce reputation for her unwavering advocacy for civil rights, as well as her relentless fight against structural racism. Hence, she was taken aback to learn that her ancestors were the complete opposite. Davis was revealed to be a direct descendant of William Brewster, one of the 102 settlers who journeyed to the colonies on the Mayflower. Just goes to show that despite sharing bloodlines, people can still differ greatly from their ancestors.

When George R. R. Martin appeared on “Finding Your Roots” in 2019, he uncovered a surprising family tale reminiscent of the sordid ones in his epic fantasy books. Martin had always believed that his Italian paternal grandfather, Louis, had abandoned his grandmother, Grace, for a younger woman. However, that notion was shattered when the show’s team revealed the results of Martin’s DNA test. Martin’s DNA showed a quarter Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, suggesting his true grandfather was Jewish. It was quickly surmised that it was Grace who likely cheated on Louis, which eventually pushed him away. Oh, we fully expect the next book to be chaotic.

Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis came on “Finding Your Roots” expecting to learn more about her ancestry. But she probably wasn’t ready for the messy familial secrets she would uncover. Davis learned that her grandfather, Henry Logan, had a mysterious lineage. In official documents, two different men had been listed as his father: Gable Logan on his social security application, and John Young on his obituary. Although Henry’s mother, Corine, was married to Gable, historical records showed that after he came back from World War I, Gable never returned to live with Corine. Through DNA analysis and census data, the researchers inferred that Corine likely had an affair with her neighbor, John Young, resulting in the birth of Davis’ grandfather.

Our forefathers often relocated to different countries for various reasons: economic prospects, fleeing conflict, or in the case of Kathryn Hahn’s ancestor, eloping with their lover at the expense of family ties. In 1853, Hahn’s third great-grandfather, Wilhelm Lünenschloss, was living in Germany with his wife and six children. However, by 1860, Wilhelm had moved to Wisconsin, now married to a different woman named Eliza. The “Finding Your Roots” team dug deeper into this significant change. Through a German city directory from 1854, they found that Eliza was the daughter of Wilhelm’s neighbor. This suggests that Wilhelm met Eliza there in Germany, then abandoned his family to start a new one with her in America.

Hollywood actress Niecy Nash was in for a rude shock when she appeared on the ninth season of
“Finding Your Roots.” Turns out the man Nash had always believed to be her paternal grandfather actually wasn’t. Naturally, this was an incredibly surprising revelation for the actress, who now faced the challenging task of breaking this news to her father. Researchers on the show used Nash’s DNA along with that of a second cousin to uncover the identity of her biological grandfather: a man named Frank Jackson. So how did this discrepancy occur? Well, that’s the complicated part. Jackson actually lived very close to Nash’s grandmother in St. Louis, so it’s believed the two had an affair, which ultimately produced Nash’s father.

Would you ever want to dig into your ancestry? What would you hope to find? Let us know in the comments below.