Five days after A&E announced a documentary series about the Ku Klux Klan, the network has abruptly canceled it.

In a statement, an A&E spokesman said the network learned that the show’s producers – from a third-party production company – made cash payments to “facilitate access” to participants, which violates A&E policy. The eight-episode series, which was scheduled to air in January, was “intended to serve as a close look at anti-hate extractors focused on helping people leave the Ku Klux Klan – the racist hate group with a long history of violence against African-Americans and others.”

“We had previously provided assurances to the public and to our core partners – including the Anti-Defamation League and Color of Change – that no payment was made to hate group members, and we believed that to be the case at the time,” the statement said. “We have now decided not to move forward with airing this project.”

Though some reality TV producers do pay their subjects, the network emphasized that it is against this practice for documentaries.

“A&E takes the authenticity of its documentary programming and the subject of racism, hatred and violence very seriously,” the statement said. “Just because this particular show goes away, the issues of hate in America do not.”

The series, originally titled “Generation KKK,” was described as a behind-the-scenes series look at four prominent Klan families, each of which had a member trying to escape the organization.