“Jersey Shore” reality television star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi may be well liked by New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, but she’s not popular with certain politicians — New Jersey state senator Joe Kyrillos slammed the “Shore Thing” author on Friday for receiving $32,000 to appear at Rutgers University.
Kyrillos said last week that he had called for legislation to reverse the way that public universities rake in student fees, adding that Snooki’s massive compensation from Rutgers was an example of why the law is crucial.
“Students ought not be forced to fund entertainment or events that they find objectionable,” Kyrillos said. “There were a great deal of Rutgers students who I am certain were uninterested or flat-out outraged by Ms. Polizzi’s appearance on campus.”
Kyrillos further criticized the tanned Jersey girl by calling her, “a degenerate reality television star who offers neither useful advice nor any appreciable talents.”
Under the Republican senator’s proposal, students would have to opt into activity fees, rather than the current system, which cuts fees unless the student opts out.
Polizzi’s campus visit, which included her advising students to “study hard, but party harder,” earned her $2,000 more than Nobel-winning writer Toni Morrison, who will give the commencement address at graduation. Plenty were ready to rumble when they learned Morrison would receive less money than Snooki.
No matter what Kyrillos says, Ariz. Sen. John McCain maintains a friendship with Snooki, with whom he exchanged numerous highly publicized tweets last year when the “Jersey Shore” star applauded him for opposing a tan tax.
“You heard about my tweets with Snooki,” McCain joked to reporters last week during a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “I got more coverage from tweets with Snooki than any foreign policy or national security statement that I have ever made in my life.”
This article has been updated. An earlier version of this story misstated that Snooki’s home state is New Jersey.