Snooki and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie went toe to toe on the Jersey Shore yesterday during a Memorial Day weekend media blitz to showcase the area’s recovery from Hurricane Sandy.
Christie frequently slams “Jersey Shore” — and the wild antics of its cast members — for giving the Garden State a bad rap.
And when the two oversize personalities met backstage on the set of the “Today” show in Seaside Heights, the tension was palpable.
“Getting told why we are bad for jersey. Amazing,” Snooki, aka Nicole Polizzi, later wrote on Instagram, along with a posting a picture of the two.
During the boardwalk encounter, which was partially caught on video, Snooki BFF and “Jersey Shore” castmate Deena Cortese defended herself after Christie’s jab.
“I’m a good person,” Cortese told him.
“I know you are. I was talking about her,” Christie replied, pointing to Snooki.
“He just doesn’t like us,” Snooki said as she walked away.
A source close to Christie claimed he was only pointing out which castmates were from New York and which from Jersey. Snooki didn’t look amused.
Christie started the day co-hosting the “Today” show and greeting tourists as part of a $25 million campaign to advertise the state’s recovery from the devastating hurricane.
Walking with Matt Lauer along the boardwalk, Christie said visitors arriving at 80 percent of the shore won’t notice anything different from last summer.
“Anybody who lives in New Jersey, the Jersey Shore is in your heart,” he said. “This means everything to our state.”
But he was candid that many parts are still struggling. Seaside Heights’ iconic roller coaster — where Snooki and the gang spent many a drunken afternoon — was devastated during the storm. It has yet to be replaced.
Asked to rate the recovery on a scale of 1 to 10, the governor said business districts were better off than some residential ones.
“It’s an 8 in some places and a 4 in others, so it depends,” Christie said.
On Tuesday, Christie will host another celebrity — President Obama — who will be on hand for the reopening of Asbury Park’s Convention Hall.
The GOP governor told Lauer that he wasn’t worried about appearing too cozy with Obama.
“If he wants to come here and visit the people of New Jersey, I’m going to be here to welcome him.”
After Obama’s last visit, in October, and Christie’s praise of the president’s handling of the tragedy, many Republicans skewered Christie for his pubic friendship with the president. Some even claimed he helped cost Mitt Romney the 2012 election.