Alicia Keys mysteriously backed out of Dr. Henry Louis Gates' PBS family history show "Finding Your Roots"

Bossip Video

Is Alicia’s family hiding something???

Alicia Keys Mysteriously Declines An Offer To Appear On “Finding Your Roots”

Dr. Henry Louis Gates is a foremost authority on Black history in America and the host of a TV program called “Finding Your Roots” where he does a thorough breakdown of celebrities’ (mostly African-America) family tree to give them more information about where they’re really from. Several celebs have participated in the PBS show including Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Barbara Walters, Condoleezza Rice, and Robert Downey Jr. to name a few.

In a recent interview, Gates was asked if any celebs had ever decided to turn down the chance to discover their ancestry and he replied that indeed two people had rejected the offer. One of which was Colin Powell, the other, Grammy award-winning singer, mother, and wife of Swizz “Beaks” Beatz, Alicia Keys.

Though Colin Powell simply stated that he “had too many cousins already” to participate, Alicia Keys reasoning for accepting, then later declining the offer was a little less specific.

According to Dr. Gates:

“Alicia Keys, who I love as a friend of mine, agreed to be in the first series, and as you know, she’s mixed. Her African-American grandmother said ‘Baby…’, we send people a form, we need as much information as you can give us. Like the names of your parents, where they were born, grandparents etc., whatever you can give us. It makes our job a lot simpler right? Her grandmother said ‘Baby, you can’t be in the series. I can’t tell you why, but you can’t be in the series.’

With so much diversity in her family it would have been very interesting to hear more about her parents background. But for whatever reason it sounds like Grandmama Keys might not have wanted the beans spilled about any shady goings-on that might have occured with the fam over the course of history.

Alicia would have been the first person with a biracial background to be a part of the heralded series.