RD/Kirkland/Retna
After heavily promoting the incident -- in which Snooki gets violently socked in the face by bar patron Brad Ferro -- on episode previews over the past several weeks, the punch heard around the world (wide Web) never saw the light of TV airtime. In a statement about pulling the footage, MTV says the incident "was a crime and obviously extremely disturbing."
So, the network sloppily applied a band-aid on the controversial scene and blacked out the screen during the actual moment of impact. Shots of an anguished Snooki, police hauling away her assailant and a message about MTV's anti-violence stance followed in an apparent attempt at responsibility and an effort to quell the criticism surrounding the show.
Here's one viewer who isn't buying it. What the network did only adds to the curiosity about the event. Anyone with access to a computer can watch the punch -- tens of thousands on YouTube already have. MTV also claims that the show will "make it clear what events transpired, including the full aftermath."
Really? Will we get to see the consequences for Ferro, a New York City high school teacher who was arrested on assault charges and placed in a "temporary reassignment center" in the school system? Somehow I doubt it.
On a lighter note, our shore house seven were especially amusing this week in the first 50-some minutes of the episode. Sammi breaks the cardinal rule of the Jersey Shore and falls in love with Ronnie, while Pauly D and Mike are luring and losing women faster than you can say "The Situation." --Rennie Dyball
Tell us: Did MTV do the right thing by not airing the footage of Snooki getting punched?RD/Kirkland/Retna
