‘Jersey Shore’: Here’s Why the Girls Were Allowed to Write the Note to Sammi ‘Sweetheart’ Giancola
If you’re a Jersey Shore fan, you’re familiar with “the note.” Find out why production crews allowed Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWoww” Farley to pen the infamous letter to Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola.
Production doesn’t allow the cast to use any form of communication
While filming early seasons of Jersey Shore, the cast wasn’t allowed to use anything that would enable them to communicate with the outside world. Cell phones were prohibited and the cast was limited to one private personal call a week. Any calls placed outside of that time frame were filmed.
Production crews also put limits on the cast’s access to books and magazines. Anything that could be used to communicate silently (think circling words in a book, then passing it off to a roommate) is off-limits to the cast. Doing so ensures production gets every interaction — no matter how dramatic — on camera.
‘Snooki’ and ‘JWoww’ were allowed to write a note in Miami
Polizzi and Farley write a note telling Giancola about Ronnie Ortiz-Magro’s actions. In one of the most iconic scenes in Jersey Shore history, the duo types up the note at a Miami cyber café. After debating whether or not to use a pink font, Farley dictates as Polizzi types. “We say t*ts, not breasts, so she probably won’t even know it’s us,” Polizzi says convincingly to cameras.
They conclude with “multiple people in the house know; therefore, you should know the truth.” The note is placed among Giancola’s things for her to find later in the episode.
‘Jersey Shore’ production crews wanted Ron to be exposed
Since note-writing is a form of communication, one would think production would nix the idea of Polizzi and Farley writing a note. A former producer took to Reddit to explain why the letter was allowed. “[The note] was the only way for Ron’s behavior to come out that season,” they explained. “No matter what happened, we were going to blow the lid off that it wasn’t production who wrote the note.
Believing Giancola would think the note was from production, Farley and Polizzi felt confident in their anonymity. But production crews had other plans. “We didn’t tell her who specifically wrote it, but we did say that it was [from a roommate, not us],” the former producer added.
The note allowed for instant gratification
According to the former producer, the roommates were allowed to watch the latest season while recording the next one. “If we didn’t allow the note to begin with, Samantha would have only found out after that season aired,” they said. “We ended up letting them watch Miami while in the house. If we didn’t allow them to watch it, she would have only found out about everything that happened in Miami and reacted to it during the Italy season. Talk about a slow burn!”
Production didn’t think the note would backfire
Jersey Shore production crews assumed Giancola would think they wrote her the note. How wrong they were! Instead of confronting production crews, Giancola took all of her anger out on Farley and Polizzi. “That we did not expect at all,” the former producer said. “But it was the best twist ever!”
