NEW ALBANY, Ohio — Teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has offered to pay “Jersey Shore” cast member Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino not to wear its merchandise, according to a new report.
With their quick rise to fame, the cast of MTV reality show has cashed in on a number of endorsement deals, including weight loss supplements, alcohol and bronzer.
But A&F released a statement last night titled “A Win-Win Situation,” in which it stated a “deep concern” over the association between Sorrentino and the brand, The Wall Street Jorunal reported. The New Albany, Ohio company offered up a “substantial payment” to Sorrentino “to wear an alternate brand.”
Sorrentino, one of the most popular characters on the show, is known for lifting up his shirt off to reveal his abdomen muscles, more often flashing the logo on the waistband of his underwear.
As retail analysts at Nomura Securities pointed out in a research note Tuesday evening, Sorrentino was seen in the most recent episode of “Jersey Shore” wearing a pair of neon green A&F sweatpants “loudly [and proudly]” on the streets of Florence.
“We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans,” the A&F statement read.
The company also extended the pay-to-not-play offer to the other Jersey Shore reality stars and said it was “urgently waiting a response.”
A&F declined further comment ahead of its quarterly earnings report Wednesday morning.
“It’s a clever PR stunt and we’d love to work with them on other ways they can leverage ‘Jersey Shore’ to reach the largest youth audience on television,” said an MTV spokesperson in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday.
To read more, go to WSJ.com.