One of Black Entertainment Television’s new programs has drawn sharp criticism from viewers and caused potential sponsors to pull ads.

Hot Ghetto Mess, one of BET’s new original programs has critics accusing the Viacom owned station of exploiting racial stereotypes, a charge several at the company deny.

In separate statements, State Farm Insurance and Home Depot confirm that their advertisements will not run during the program’s premiere.

“We have reviewed the content of this program, which we just heard about, and we will not be airing any State Farm advertising during this program on BET,” a representative from the company writes.

After the outcry began, BET quickly went on the offensive, releasing a statement of its own concerning sponsor pullouts and asserts the point of the show is not to exploit the outrageousness of some in Black culture, but to create dialog about certain behaviors.

“A few of our clients have asked to move to other programming dayparts, and we simply accommodated their request,”BET said in a statement.

“Is [it] my goal to discuss these issues in a format and context that makes people who don’t watch the channel comfortable or do it in a way that engages the 18- to 34-year-old viewer and makes them really think about these things?”Reginald Hudlin, President of Entertainment says of the program.

Though Hudlin’s heart may be in the right place with Mess, others believe that the point of the show will be lost on BET’s core audience.

25-year-old college student Latrice Janine is one of those people. Janine decided to take matters into her own hands, launching an online petition calling for a stop to Hot Ghetto Mess.

She has collected roughly 2,000 signatures.

“Maybe after Don Imus no one seems to have a problem with this kind of thing anymore,”Janine tells the Associated Press. “I still do. I may not stop Viacom from doing this on television, but it’s an effort to let them know the days of sitting quietly are gone.”

The idea that Viacom is behind many of the questionable images shown on the station is one that Hudlin denies.

“BET is very autonomous. We don’t run ideas past Viacom. It’s me having a conversation with my boss, (BET chairman and CEO) Debra Lee.”

Hot Ghetto Mess will premiere July 25 at 10:30 pm. and will be hosted by former Chappelle’s Show co-star, Charlie Murphy.