Hollywood actor Benedict Cumberbatch's family could face reparations to Barbados for running a slave plantation on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries, according to a report by Telegraph.
Cumberbatch's ancestor, Abraham Cumberbatch had reported land in the 18th century which housed over 250 enslaved people. The family maintained ownership of them until slavery's abolishment in 1834, the Telegraph reported.
The report further said that David Comissiong, the deputy chairperson of the national commission on reparations wants slave-owing families to pay damages.
Mr Comissiong said, "This is at the earliest stages. We are just beginning. A lot of this history is only really now coming to light."
But according to a report published in Barbados Today. Mr Comissiong has denied making these claims to The Telegraph and said the paper is "putting words" in his mouth.
"It is clear to me that Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper has commenced upon a mission to concoct its own narrative about Barbados' Reparations Campaign."
In his op-ed, Ms Comissiong said, "A good example of the technique is the Daily Telegraph journalist asking me if Barbados intends to pursue a Reparations claim against the family of someone named Benedict Cumberbatch, and when one answers that one does not know who Benedict Cumberbatch is nor anything about his family's supposed involvement in slavery in Barbados, that answer is reported as my having asserted that Barbados has not ruled out pursuing a Reparations claim against Mr Cumberbatch and his family!"
He adds, "And then suddenly there is a big international news story about Barbados pursuing a Reparations claim against the said Benedict Cumberbatch!"
