CONTROVERSY SELLS

Things are looking up for UPN's hip-hop soap Platinum, which debuted Monday to great reviews but so-so ratings: A community group is calling for a boycott of the show! On Wednesday, Project Islamic HOPE held a press conference and called on producers to stop glorifying the "brutality" of life in the rap world. In a statement, UPN defended the show as "a very honest behind-the-scenes look at aspects of the hip-hop industry."

TV GuideNews April 17, 2003 at 1:00 a.m. PT