Tidbits: “Jersey Shore” Strike Could Backfire

The cast of MTV’s “Jersey Shore” is said to be on strike while they renegotiate bigger bucks for future episodes of their fist-pumping party life, but the standoff could backfire for the reality TV stars.

According to TMZ, the powers-that-be behind MTV’s “Jersey Shore” have had enough of the entitled attitudes of the self-proclaimed Guidos and Guidettes who made the show a hit, and might simply leave some of them behind.

“The show is not about famous rich people with managers coming to the Shore,” a production company insider said.

As such, some of those newly rich reality stars may not return to the Seaside Heights scene after the strike. Big characters — including Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio — seem safe, but the rest of the G.T.L. crowd could soon be looking for work.

A report on RadarOnline revealed that MTV gave each of the “Shore” participants a chance to renew their contracts before filming resumed on what’s being called the second part of the second season. The cast had until the 16th to make their demands known.

“None of them did,” a source explained. “So when the 16th passed and there were no new deals, MTV took the position that all the cast's original contracts were still in force at their $10,000 an episode fee.”

A tidy sum, but if the stars remain no-shows, the “or else” clause goes into effect.

“The 'or else' part is that if they don't come back to work (Tuesday), it goes to legal,” the source said.

‘Dancing’ pro blasts Vanity Fair
After sticking by Erin Andrews’ side for nine weeks on “Dancing With the Stars,” ballroom pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy still feels the need to come to his former partner’s defense.

Of course no one’s criticizing Andrews’ dance-floor moves anymore, but that made no difference to Chmerkovskiy. When he learned ESPN’s sideline reporter suffered an interview gone wrong with Vanity Fair, he had plenty to say.

"It was the lack of professionalism," Chmerkovskiy said of interviewer George Wayne in a quote published to E! Online.

While a number of Wayne’s trademark oddball questions could have set Chmerkovskiy off, including a bizarre one about Andrew’s bathroom habits, it’s likely the bit about her “cheesy, ballroom dance partner” that caused the pro even more concern.

“No, I mean honestly shame on Vanity Fair,” the Ukrainian dance champ continued. “I'm a business owner, I have about 47 employees. Say you come to my (dance) studio and if instead of getting a dance lesson you just get made fun of ... you're going to say this studio sucks not this instructor sucks. Just like me, I think Vanity Fair needs to clean their house a little bit. There's no place for that bull----."

Dish on the fly
If “Twilight” actress Kristen Stewart hoped for sympathetic sounding board for all of her fame-related woes, she won’t find it in her “In the Land of Women” co-star Adam Brody. "It’s only gotten worse, I’m sure, being a celebrity, but at the same time I don’t have a lot of patience for people who moan about it too much, because there are so many things you could do,” Brody recently told director and web show host Diablo Cody. And as for Stewart in particular, with her fears of paparazzi violations and assassin-fans, Brody was particularly blunt. “It’s like quit, f------ quit. You don’t need to be an actor. So, it’s like, if it’s that much of a problem, there’s the door.” Ahem. … A Funny or Die video prank might soon turn into a reality show. According to Deadline, the success of “Undercover Karaoke With Jewel,” wherein the “Who Will Save Your Soul” singer wowed a karaoke crowd with secret skills, inspired the Funny or Die bigwigs to pitch a similar gag to the networks. The singers and the venues would change, but the “gotcha” concept would stay the same.

Tabloid Tidbits is compiled by Ree Hines. Follow @ReeHines on Twitter to gab about the latest gossip.

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