Seventy-six-year-old rock legend Steven Tyler made a shocking discovery about an unexpected branch in his family tree in a resurfaced show clip.
His daughter, actress Liv Tyler, 47, shared some shocking information about her ancestors with the Aerosmith frontman during a 2017 installment of NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” docuseries.
The docuseries is an adaptation of a genealogy discovery show that began airing on the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2004.
In season eight of the American edition of the program, Liv revealed she learned about her maternal grandmother Susan Blancha’s side of the family.
“We’ve always talked about your Italian side of all the musicians, but you never knew about your mom’s side. That was a mystery,” Liv told her dad while the two celebrities met in Schuylerville, New York.
She continued, “So we traced my family tree back to my four times great-grandfather, Robert Elliott, who is your great-great-great-grandfather. Robert Elliott was part African-American.”
Steven listened to his daughter before he quickly responded, “I knew it. Thank you, God. I always felt akin to Black people, always.”
The lead singer of the legendary rock band claimed he “had no idea” his mother’s great-great-grandfather was a Black man, adding, “But I felt it my whole life.”
According to Liv, Robert Elliott spent part of his life as an indentured servant, fought in the War of 1812, and played drums.
Robert’s son, George Washington Elliott, enlisted as a white man in the Civil War and served as a drummer in the military. In addition to being a vocalist like his ancestors, Steven is also a percussionist.
The father-daughter duo visited the grave of George W. Elliott who was allegedly born in 1838 and died in 1918.
A clip from the Tylers’ “Who Do You Think You Are?” appearance resurfaced on the DoggieDiamondsTV Instagram page. The outlet’s comment section filled up with various reactions to Steven having Black ancestors.
