Eight guidos and eight guidettes picked to live in a house and have their lives changed seems to be an understatement when it comes to the 'Jersey Shore' crew. In arguably MTV's most successful reality show yet, the unsuspecting Shore gang shot from complete obscurity to the topic of conversation under every roof in America -- including the White House, Barack Obama joked that the artificially sun-kissed gang would be exempt from the indoor tanning tax -- faster than you can say 'gym, tan, laundry.'
But just as quickly as the shore gang rose to fame, they seem to be falling, one by one, at the same rate. From six digit lawsuits to family members flinging dirt to castmates dropping like flies, are the juiceheads and poofed-heads we've come to know and love getting too big to get through the front door of their shore pad? Sure reality stars from shows like 'Survivor' or 'The Real World' get their occasional DUI or front page headline, but the Jersey Shore gang has managed to stay on the front pages for far less and much worse. Could the group's overexposure lead to the downfall of their own show?
Take a look back with us at the blow-by-blow scandals that have landed the East coast's most notorious kids between a bar and a hard place. Who knows, if the recent casting shake-ups maintain their momentum, we may be saying arrivederci to the shore squatters for good.
THE SITUATION:
Although Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino hasn't had any run-ins with the law since he became the godfather of his Shore side family, it's his real family that's been a source of scandal for the serial ab-flasher since his moniker first earned a spot in the pop lexicon. The Situation's father, Mike Sorrentino, had an axe to grind regarding his suddenly famous son when he sat down for an interview with TMZ. In the interview, Sorrentino Sr. vented, "When you get to the top and you forget where you come from somebody should remind you. I just want to remind you." Sell-out family interviews? Check. But Sitch wasn't out of the clear after ordering his father to dismantle a 'burn' website that he had created, targeting his son.
Not long after, the reality star was under fire once again, this time with a $1 million lawsuit filed by his ex-managers, hoping to get a piece of Sorrentino's now hefty salary. From family feuds to lofty lawsuits, it seemed to have gotten to be a bit too much for the six-pack symbol when he up and left the Jersey Shore house during filming just last week. Could this be the end for Sorrentino?
SNOOKI:
She may be the gang's pint-sized comedic relief but Snooki serves up gallons of drama. In the first season at the shore, Snooki became the overnight breakout star of the cast after she took a punch to the face in a local bar. After being heckled by a male patron, MTV's cameras caught the obviously inebriated dude sock it to Snooks right in the snout. How's that for an introduction to the perks of having your own reality show?
Later in 2010, the pickle loving poof pioneer landed herself an arrest for disorderly conduct after face planting in the sand during a daytime drunken stupor. The tiny trouble was later sentenced to $533 in fines and two days of community service. But Snooki's 2010 incident seems like a mildly intoxicated episode compared to her latest alcohol induced stunt: grinding with a potted plant.
RONNIE:
For the most part, Ronnie is able to stay out of the shore house drama (when it doesn't involve his on-off girlfriend and castmate, Sammi). But keeping with his general back seat to the show, Ronnie's biggest scandal yet comes in the form of a warrant for his arrest in the fall of 2010 -- for unpaid parking tickets.
JWOWW:
Although Jenni Farley doesn't count any arrests on her scandal rap sheet, that doesn't mean she's completely avoided run-ins with the law. In December of 2010, JWoww's ex-boyfriend and ex-manager, Tom Lippolis, sued the guidette for $350,000 in unpaid booking fees, nightclub appearance cuts and a salary raise that he believed he had a hand in facilitating. But not so fast, JWoww denied being out any money to her ex-boyfriend, who eventually moved out of their shared house while JWoww was filming and took just about anything he could carry with him.
Later, in early 2011, Farley's stellar ex began shopping nude photos of the reality show starlet, before and after her reported liposuction and breast augmentation procedures. "I didn't even try to market the pictures, but after I filed the lawsuit she decided to make this an issue," Lippolis later told TMZ. "She is just upset because I have this over her head." The pictures were ultimately never released.
SAMMI:
She may call herself 'the sweetest b--ch you'll ever meet' but we're pretty sure the woman who got a fist full of sweetness after being punched by the reality star at a Miami nightclub may not agree. When she's not throwing punches at her roommates (Snooki, JWoww) Sammi lets her fists do the talking with total strangers. After socking it to a Miami woman, Sammi packed up and got out of town without so much as a slap on her wrist -- but beware, if she ever heads back to the sunshine state, the assault case can be re-opened.
As for Vinny, Pauly D and Deena, aside from a scandalous Playgirl offer and a questionable dating history, their Jersey Shore rap sheets are in the clear ... for now.