Skins Producers Ordered To Tone Down Sexually Explicit Content

Courtesy: MTV

With over three million tuning in to watch Monday's premiere, Viacom executives are getting worried that the show may be violating child pornography laws due to the explicit content, according to the NY Times. The youngest actor on the cable series is fifteen years old.

Jeannie Kedas, an MTV spokeswoman, released the following statement:

"Skins is a show that addresses real-world issues confronting teens in a frank way. We review all of our shows and work with all of our producers on an ongoing basis to ensure our shows comply with laws and community standards. We are confident that the episodes of ‘Skins’ will not only comply with all applicable legal requirements, but also with our responsibilities to our viewers.”

Kedas adds, "We also have taken numerous steps to alert viewers to the strong subject matter so that they can choose for themselves whether it is appropriate.”

Advertisers are also taking precautions. Taco Bell is the first company to pull their ads from the show due to the boycott urged by the Parents Television Council. A spokesperson for Taco Bell says:

"We advertise on a variety of MTV programs that reach our core demographic of 18 to 34 year olds, which included the premiere episode of Skins. Upon further review, we’ve decided that the show is not a fit for our brand and have moved our advertising to other MTV programming."

The scripted MTV show is based off the equally provocative U.K. series.