Yahoo Lifestyle Amanda Seyfried Discovers Her Third Great-Grandfather Was Brutally Murdered: 'How Dare They!' (Exclusive)
The actress appears on the season 11 premiere of 'Finding Your Roots,' which airs Tuesday, Jan. 7
Amanda Seyfried discovers an unsettling family secret on the season 11 premiere of PBS' Finding Your Roots.
In a clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE from the upcoming episode, the actress learns that in 1905 her third great-grandfather John P. Ebert — a "well-known retired baker" who was "a good citizen and an inoffensive man," according to a newspaper article from the time — was murdered.
According to the article, Ebert "was shot three times by an unknown assailant on the back step of his home at Washington and Lumber Streets" at 9:30 p.m. the previous evening.
Shocked, Seyfried, 39, goes on to read out loud from the story: "He has just about reached the back door ... when from between the outhouse and a grape arbor which screens it stepped a man who fired three shots at him point blank."
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PBS
Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Amanda Seyfried on the season 11 premiere of Finding Your Roots"Oh my God, that's so sad," the actress says. "Your third great-grandfather was murdered," confirms host Henry Louis Gates Jr., asking Seyfried, "Have you ever heard this story before?"
"Nope, no. Definitely no," Seyfried responds.
Asked by Gates, 74, what it's like to read what happened to Ebert, the Emmy winner says, "It's weird — I don't know him, but yet, he's family."
"I'm just like, 'How dare they!' Like, 'Find justice,' " she adds.
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PBS
Amanda Seyfried on the season 11 premiere of Finding Your RootsThe PBS series' 11th season debuts with a new roster of celebrities who will learn more about their family trees, including Seyfried.
This season’s guests also include Joy Behar, Kristen Bell, Laurence Fishburne, Debra Messing, Michael Imperioli, Melanie Lynskey, Natalie Morales, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lea Salonga, Dax Shepard, Sharon Stone, Chrissy Teigen, celebrity chefs José Andrés and Sean Sherman, novelist Amy Tan, poet Rita Dove, historian Lonnie Bunch and musician Rubén Blades.
In February, longtime host Gates told PEOPLE the series, which has uncovered the family trees of many stars since its 2012 premiere, has "a long waitlist."
“We could do Finding Your Roots every week for a year and still not catch up with all the people we have on our waitlist," he said.
Finding Your Roots season 11 premieres Tuesday, Jan. 7, at 9 p.m. ET on PBS.
Read the original article on People
