The inside story of JerseyShore, as told by its creators, stars, and more
When the MTV reality series Jersey Shore debuted in 2009, it quickly became a cultural phenomenon that was both beloved and despised. It followed self-described young guidos and guidettes — depending on who you ask, terms of Italian pride or ethnic slurs — through a raucous, boozy summer in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. They tanned, they smushed, they conquered. And more importantly, they became a family.
SallyAnn Salsano : Shelly Tatro at VH1 called me and was like, “S.A., you’re the biggest guido I know. You are doing this.” SallyAnn Salsano: At the interview, Situation walked in and was like, “Okay, let me just take my shirt off first.” I was like, “What?” I have never in my life met someone that felt more comfortable upon not knowing you. He’s like, “Enough said, right?” Having casted a million of these, we had never really seen anyone do that before.
Pauly DelVecchio : I was in Rhode Island, DJing away, and I got a message on MySpace. They said they liked my look for a potential show. Then a casting director called my phone and said, “We’d like to film a day in your life.” I didn’t take it too seriously, until they showed up at my house with cameras. I’m like, “Well, what do you want me to do?” They said, “Just do what you normally do.” So I went to the gym, I took them tanning, and then I took them to the club.
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro: I had a shore house with my friends already in Belmar. I was out one night, doing whatever I do — I guess being a creep, if you wanna say — and a lady approached me. She was like, “Listen, you fit the criteria of somebody that we’re casting for a show. Would you like to try out?” Then I did a video audition. Of course, I acted like a complete crazy person. Took my shirt off, fist pumped. You know, what we do best — acting like maniacs.
Jenni Farley: “JWoww” was my nickname in the club scene. One of my friends who was an emcee would always say “wow” on the mic when I walked by, to embarrass me. When we were at work together, he was like, “You need a stage name to go by.” And I was like, “Well, you always call me ‘Wow.’ You can say ‘Jenni Wow.’” And then it shortened over time to JWoww. Sounds a little stripper-ish, now that I look back at it.
Mike Sorrentino: Seaside was a place you went to for your senior prom or junior prom. Once you turned 21, you would go to a Headliner or Karma or Bamboo on a Friday night. Everyone would flock from Long Island to come down here. Jenni Farley: I didn’t know I was gonna end up on the shore and have roommates. It was very secretive. I walked into a hotel in Jersey, gave them my cell phone, my credit card, my ID, my wallet, keys to my car. And they’re like, “Well, if you’re picked, you’ll be back home in five weeks, or if you’re not picked you can go home in a few days.” Two days later, they’re like, “Here’s the directions to the house, so we’ll see you there.
Nicole Polizzi: When I walked into the house, I was like, “Oh, these aren’t guys I would hang out with down the shore.” Pauly is the only one that looked legit. Vinny’s pale and doesn’t tan. That’s weird. I felt like I was in the wrong house. Pauly DelVecchio: The only time you’re off camera is when you’re in the bathroom. Even if you’re in the bathroom with somebody else, they say two is a party, so they film it. We took long showers to get away from cameras. But it does become second nature.
Lori Vogel : We would have somebody in, I would say, almost every day. Typically they’d tan like 10, 12 minutes. Luckily, when they were filming, it was summer, and summer is always a bit slower for a tanning salon. SallyAnn Salsano: It was exactly the real experience if you went there and worked in the T-shirt shop — [Danny Merk] would pay people to work in the T-shirt shop on top of free rent.
Jenni Farley: I’m a daughter of a used-car salesman. I honestly would not let customers check out unless they bought a shot glass for $5. I gave no options. Deena Cortese: We always had false eyelashes, hair extensions, and lots of bronzer. We basically had bronzer prints everywhere because we’d get it on our hands. It would get on our door. It would get on our dresser. The poor boys would have bronzer everywhere in the house.
Jenni Farley: Back in the day, I would drink, like, four Long Island Iced Teas and be cross-eyed, and then five or six shots on top, lemon drops. I’d just be completely nauseous and hugging the toilet for eight hours.Redfoo : “Get Crazy” made a good theme song because it fit the spirit of the show to a T: “Get crazy, get wild, let’s party, get loud” … Is it wild or loud? [Laughs.] When you listen to the song, it makes you feel high. It takes over your body and it alters your state.
Come At Me, Bro Jersey Shore was infamous from the very beginning. Some New Jersey residents were offended by the hard-partying portrayal of their state; Italian-American advocacy groups took exception to the use of the word “guido” and the show’s reinforcement of negative stereotypes. Multiple advertisers pulled their commercials from the show. Footage of Snooki getting punched proved to be particularly controversial.
Vinny Guadagnino: I was getting a little irritated because I was pretty much the only one who was first-generation Italian in the house. My family is straight off the boat from Sicily. They’re not offended. If we went to Italy right now, real Italian people wouldn’t be like, “Oh, they’re giving Italians a bad name.” They’d be like, “Look at these stupid Americans.”
Doron Ofir: Snooki had never been away from home. The other roommates didn’t like her. She didn’t fit in. She wanted to quit the show. What brought the house together, unfortunately, was the attack on Snooki at that bar — because suddenly, they protected her. At that moment, they became a family. Jenni Farley: It’s cut really quick, but if you slow it down, you can see me hit him. The anger is still there, nine years later. I always say I would never do anything different, except I would have hit him harder if I could’ve.
Vinny Guadagnino: The first season, I didn’t get laid at all. I kissed one or two girls, that was the extent of it. Then, obviously, it went anywhere from 20 to 30, 20 to 40. Doron Ofir: My thoughts were, initially, that JWoww and Mike would have coupled off. I did hope that Sammi and Ronnie would couple off. Episode one, it was really Sammi and Mike — but literally, day three, Sammi and Ronnie were inseparable. They became the the most organic, volatile duo, I think, in the history of reality television.
Jenni Farley: It completely backfired. She really was more mad that someone wrote the note than about what was written in the note. It was so hard for us in Miami. Picture two months with no cell phone, internet, TV, no pens or paper, and living with someone that hates your guts. Nicole Polizzi: We went to L.A. for press during season one. None of us went to the West Coast before. Kimmel was our first big show. We were only supposed to be there for that, then come back. We ended up staying a couple extra days because they were booking us for all these other shows. And then, going out that night, we were hanging out with Leonardo DiCaprio and Lindsay Lohan. All the celebrities were coming up to us, “I love your show,” saying “GTL,” having shots with us.
SallyAnn Salsano: When we went back for season three, it was packed. There was from 1,000 to 3,000 people following us around everywhere — people on a family vacation from Nebraska, people from Australia. Ronnie Ortiz-Magro: We weren’t allowed to go on the balcony in the front of the house during the day because that’s where the fans would sit. Every time we went outside, the whole block would scream. It was like being at a Yankee game when they chant everybody’s name.
Nicole Polizzi: I was a hot mess — I knew I was gonna eventually get arrested for being drunk and disorderly. I wasn’t surprised. I blacked out, but I remember thinking, “How do I get on the beach?” I was so drunk, to the point I couldn’t even say, “How do you get on the beach?” So I just said, “Where’s the beach?”
Ronnie Ortiz-Magro: I went back to Florence two years ago and I actually was able to be a tourist, which we didn’t really do in Italy. It’s crazy, because so many things we walked by every day — whether we were walking to the store, to the house, to the club — were thousands and thousands of years of history.
Nicole Polizzi: It was nice to be able to say I was a part of the last season, but I didn’t actually want to do the show. I was like, “Listen, I’m pregnant. I don’t want to be in that house, it’s filthy. Everyone’s gonna be drinking.” I’ve always wanted to be a mom, and I wanted to go about it the safest, healthiest way. Obviously, MTV and the roomies wanted me to do it, so they got me a separate house right next door, which was nice. I didn’t really do much.
The Endless Summer Jersey Shore cast members later starred in the eponymous MTV spinoffs The Pauly D Project, Snooki & JWoww, and The Show With Vinny, all three of which were executive-produced by Salsano and French. The series itself remains a cultural touchstone around the world: It’s been remade internationally seven times, including in the form of the U.K.’s Geordie Shore, now entering its 17th season.
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