BET axes risque videos from a.m.

“BET Uncut,” the compilation of racy videos that drew protests while it kept some rap fans awake late at night, has been cut.

“BET Uncut” aired in the wee morning hours Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, showing videos considered too risque to show at other times. But it upset some viewers who said many of them were degrading to women. The clips regularly showed obscured nudity and women gyrating wildly with sexual overtones. One video by Nelly featured the rapper swiping a credit card between a woman’s backside.

Protests about the content had nothing to do with its cancellation this month, said BET spokesman Michael Lewellen. His explanation was that the network wanted “to do something different in that time period.”

BET will instead fill the time slot with reruns of programs on the air earlier or syndicated sitcoms. Those tend to be a lot cheaper than original programming for networks.