GM Motors invested in the previous season of 'Survivor' an estimated $14 million and the deal was a fairly lucrative one. But the executives from the carmaker company decided to back out on the show only days after it was announced that the next season will be approaching the fight for survival (and for the big prize) from an ethnic perspective.

CBS made the announcement about the change in the format of the show last week. It was said that the four tribes will be divided on the principle of their members' color, into black, Asian, Hispanic and white. The new format immediately caused outrage, as it was suggested that this will do nothing but contribute even more to the deepening of the racial gaps existent in our society.

The network fought hard to prove that this was not the case, as the competition is usually giving equal chances to all contestants, no matter the tribe to which they belong. 'CBS fully recognizes the controversial nature of this format but has full confidence in their producers and their ability to produce the program in a responsible manner. "Survivor" is a program that is no stranger to controversy and has always answered its critics on the screen', a spokesperson for the network said.

But their main sponsor isn't willing to risk having its name attached to a show that has already been labeled as 'racist'. A representative for General Motors made a public statement, only days after NYC politicians asked for the show to be killed off, in which he announced that the carmaker is no longer the main sponsor for 'Survivor'.

Of course, he didn't say that this was the reason for which the partnership ended: 'I think it's just a coincidence. I know it's not cause and effect', he said about the 'racial' allegations. He then added that 'there's a limited number of possibilities as to how you can integrate a car or a truck' in a show that focuses on a group of people isolated on an island.

The representatives from CBS also went with the same version of the story: 'They notified us several months ago, well before the plans for the upcoming format were put into motion. GM had no knowledge of [this season's] ethnic format'. The bottom line is that, in the end, 'Survivor' is currently without a main sponsor and, the way things are going, it's less than likely that another sponsor (as big as GM) will come along soon.