YNOT – Organizers of the Exxxotica Fan Choice Awards, nicknamed the Fannys, have apologized to the BBW community and its admirers for an attempt at humor that offended instead of amused.

The “Hungry, Hungry Hottie” award category, new this year and meant to recognize exceptional BBW entertainers, has been renamed “Whole Lotta Love,” according to J. Handy, executive producer of the awards.

“We received a large amount of messages and emails and have taken a step back and realized how that title could have been perceived,” Handy said. “We’ve always supported the BBW industry, and as soon as we started hearing negative feedback the decision to change the name was quickly made.

“We apologize to anyone who was offended,” he continued. “We take great pride in the diversity of our events, and this was just a not-so-successful attempt at being funny.”

The 2013 Fanny winners will be announced during a ceremony set to take place April 20 in the Grand Ballroom at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, N.J. The awards ceremony is part of Exxxotica Expo, which will run April 19-21 at the same hotel.