Last summer MTV was being criticized for using the word "guido" as they promoted their new show Jersey Shore... and their critics lost, big time. The cast members proudly embraced the word, and the show was so wildly popular that it's now back for a second season. The original cast, who will all be returning this summer, are now household names: The Situation, Snooki, J-Woww, Pauly D... and those other ones.
So the shock value of the G-word is probably no longer needed, which is perhaps why producers of the show say they'll be taking it down a notch this season. According to WCBS, the president of Italian-American group UNICO, Andre DiMino, said he met with Viacom and they promised to cut down on references to guido, and also Italians and shots of the Italian flag.
The agreement doesn't seem to be a truce, however, DiMino is still taking shots at the show, saying: "With a program like this it's still trash television, and it would be unfortunate if they don't de-Italianize the program."
He's not going to get any help from the cast, however. An MTV spokeswoman explained, "our role is to document the cast, and however they refer to themselves we don't interfere." Cut to Snooki, who recently declared to the AP: "I'm excited to see the guidos... We're not representing Italians, we're not representing any type of nationality. It's a lifestyle to be a guido, guidette." She also said she's happy to "be back in my homeland, my hometown, and party it up at the shore. I think it misses me." Did it really, though?
