Against all odds, the cast of Jersey Shore is still relevant -- and still on TV -- more than ten years after repulsed critics dismissed the guidos and guidettes as fist-pumping flashes in the pan.
In fact, despite all the buzz about Teen Mom and The Challenge, Shore remains MTV's top-rated series.
But just like some of its more troubled cast members, the show has undergone some major changes in order to stay on top.
In fact, some would say Shore is unrecognizable from its early days, when the only thing nastier than the mattress in the smush room was the insults hurled during bitter disputes among the roommates.
These days, the show is more like a wholesome reality TV sitcom, and the transformation has led some fans to label it Jersey Bore.
There are many reasons for this shift in tone, most of them have to do with the fact most of the stars now have children, several are sober, and one (Pauly D) is in his forties.
But a growing group of disgruntled viewers pins the blame squarely on the show's most divisive cast member.
We're talking, of course, about Angelina Pivarnick.
If you've read this far into an article about Jersey Shore, then you're probably well aware of the controversial bridesmaids' speech at Angelina's wedding.
And you probably know that Snooki quit the show as a result of the uproar over the speech.
Thus far, the latest season of Shore has centered almost entirely around the build-up of the conflict between Angelina and JWoww.
Needless to say, the pace has been a bit slow for some fans, and many of them have been vocal in their belief that the lack of excitement is all Angelina's fault.
“Angelina and editing is the reason this show is getting boring,” one critic wrote on Reddit this week.
"Every time Angelina is present there is drama which is unnecessary. I hate both production and Angelina equally," this person continued.
From there, the redditor repeated a common complaint and blamed Angelina for Snooki's departure.
"How production let Snooki leave and kept Angelina is beyond me," they wrote.
"Snooki was one of their main cash cows, and I’m not saying the rest of the cast can’t carry the show, but why should they allow Angelina to be part of their ‘family’ she’s never done anything but upset people and bring drama."
Then this critic crossed the line into full-blown troll territory by suggesting an anti-Angelina "smear campaign" in hopes of having Pivarnick fired from Shore.
“Let’s start a smear campaign like her fans started a smear campaign on Snooki and her business,” they wrote.
The comment quickly racked up likes and words of support from like-minded Angelina-haters.
Others were a bit more nuanced in their takes and pointed out that Jersey Shore: Family Vacation (the seldom-used full title of the current iteration) was slower than the original series even before Angelina re-joined the cast.
“I agree and disagree,” one redditor commented.
“Editing is 100% awful yes. But I don’t think Angelina is as a awful or dramatic as they make her seem.”
Well, it sounds like Angeliners is officially under attack.
Fortunately for her, the same people who are coming for her are blasting her bosses for their allegedly crappy editing.
So in the end, she'll probably be just fine.
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