Watch CBS News

Domino's Pulls Ads From MTV's "Jersey Shore"

Domino's Pizza (DPZ) has pulled its ads from MTV's "Jersey Shore," the MTV show about a bunch of "Guidos" who live in a beach house in Sleazeside Seaside Heights, N.J. "The content of this particular program is not right for Domino's Pizza," the company said, in a statement that is being widely interpreted as a veiled criticism that the show is somehow "racist" against Italian-Americans.

Much of the show's "racism" (I'm using that term in quotes because I'm not sure that Italians constitute a "race") is generated by the show's own stars. The show is billed as being about "hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos." Here's the N.Y. Times' description:

Their beach house, in Seaside Heights, N.J., has on its garage door a map of the state painted over a giant Italian flag. And while the subjects profess a certain amount of pride in their ethnic heritage, they persistently refer to themselves and one another as "Guidos," a term that in previous generations was a derogatory nickname for Italian-Americans, many of whom still consider the term to be offensive.
André DiMino, the president of Unico National, an Italian-American group, says:
"I don't see any redeeming value in the show. They are an embarrassment to themselves and to their families."
So there you have it: Domino's is either fighting the good fight against anti-Italian-America racism or it's a self-hating Guido pizza chain. You decide.
View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.