Jennifer Garner has been slammed on social media after a video resurfaced of her questioning Regina King about her ancestors.
Back in 2017, Chelsea Handler hosted a now-canceled talk show on Netflix for two seasons, and one of the episodes was titled: 'Dinner Party: My American Experience.'
According to the description box, the streaming service explained that a group of celebrities - including Rob Riggle, Mary McCormack, and Dan Savage - would sit down to "discuss their roots, patriotism, religion, and modern America's complexities".
With the 48-year-old comedian at the head of the table, you would think that the stars would share a light-hearted discussion but like most dinner parties, it was anything but that.
Watch the moment below:The video begins with Handler asking her guests to share a little about their families and where they're from as they eat their dinner.
King, 52, started by recalling her childhood and proudly telling other guests that she was "born and bred" in Los Angeles, California.
"It's, I think, a very cool thing," the Friday actress said. "And I kind of wear it on my chest very proudly because so many people say, 'Oh, LA is this and LA is that,' and I'm like, well, you're not from LA, so you don't really know it."
Garner, 51, - who was sitting directly across from her - then interrupts King to ask: "But do you know where your ancestors are from?"
"Well, yeah," King responded, laughing slightly awkwardly. "They were part of the triangle slave trade. From Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Senegal, but my parents are both from the South."
The moment was re-shared on Twitter and has garnered a lot of backlash from users. Many people found the 13 Going 30 actress question strange and inappropriate.
One outraged person wrote: "Jennifer Garner, a white woman from TX, asking an African American woman where her ancestors came from because Regina said she is a LA native is completely racist and disgusting. Regina is better than me. It would have gotten REAL NASTY had she asked me that at this dinner table."
Another said: "I really liked Jennifer Garner until this question. It feels like a serious MICROAGRESSION. It made me want to say WTF. It is like she is saying but 'Where are you REALLY from?'"
A third commented: "People are saying this is taken out of context but idk, I didn’t like that tone lol also that’s a loaded a** question for black Americans bc you know that people wanna hear a specific African country, not 'my ancestors are from the south.'"
A fourth remarked: "Nah Jennifer Garner definitely gave Regina King that white woman stare as she said she was from Los Angeles. I could tell she was about to be ignorant. Lmao they be thirsty for us to root our origin in slavery with nothing else mentioned or considered."
Some people who have claimed to have watched the entire episode pointed out that Garner's question made sense in context as the episode was titled My American Experience. However, others stated that only a Black woman was asked by a white woman about her ancestry, which was highly problematic.
So far, neither of the stars has commented on the resurfaced clip, but in the meantime, you can watch the whole conversation on Netflix.
