Shabooty Interview Series: Vinny Guadagnino (MTV Jersey Shore)

Vinny Guadagnino is the cast member of the hit MTV show Jersey Shore, that everyone can agree upon liking. He’s been thrust amongst fake boobs, debauchery, grenade dodging, and all around juice-head madness, yet he’s been able to keep an even head through it all. His on off switch is usually on mellow, and when often times he’s surrounded by assholified behavior, he manages to come out smelling like a rose. Yeah, he’s a little bit of a momma’s boy like VH1′s Frank the Entertainer, but the difference is his boat-load of adoring females don’t deflate at the end of the day (blow up doll humor). Speaking of, the kid doesn’t have an inflated ego, which proves endearing and is the reason he’s my favorite Jersey Shore cast member. This interview is the “non” douche-chill inducing situation (no shots, Mike).

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Shabooty: Speak on being tricked into appearing on the Village Voice ‘Queer Issue’ Cover
Vinny Guadagnino: It was just like the same exact photo shoot [as any other]… We go there, we get our makeup and our hair or whatever done, and we take the pictures and then you know they’re sent out. I actually think the pictures look pretty good, no matter where they were, and I don’t have a problem with gays, that actually opened up a fan base even more probably, and you know, I wanna be loved by everybody.

Do you have any tattoos?
Yeah, I have a tattoo on my arm, I have half a sleeve and I have a Jesus piece on my back.

The reason I ask is, is it weird  if a fan comes up to you and they have copied your exact tattoo?
I mean, I have ‘forza’ which means strength in Italian written down my arm and I’ve seen a girl get the same exact one on her back. Pauly has Cadillac down his side and a girl actually did Cadillac down her side too, so if it looks good then whatever, but if it doesn’t, I feel badly, haha.

I assume in season two that the “stalking my life” phenomenon gets ratcheted up to a whole ‘nother level?
Uhh, yeah, but we’re also a bigger kinda production, so we’re not that accessible. When there is more crowds, people kinda keep their distance for the most part rather than everybody trying to come up to us and stalk us. But you definitely had your persistent ones, but you’ve seen it on the first season, the girl stalking Pauly –that was really what she was doing IN REAL LIFE. If we let a girl in our circle like that, then yeah it would happen. I mean, we had our stalkers, but they kinda stayed in the distance for the most part.

I assume you guys had two or three times more security this time?
Yeah, we had some more security in Miami.

Are there talks of a season three?
I can say this with all honesty, I hear the same things you hear, we know what the general public knows, until it’s like about that time… so, as of right now, we don’t know what’s going on. We know to hang tight and to keep our [schedules open], and to be ready and stuff like that. We know this is a good show and ya know [we have] the momentum and people like it. We’re just riding the wave and waiting for what’s next!

If another MTV show doesn’t do “Jersey Shore numbers”, doesn’t that just validate you guys even more?
Uhh, I’d say… I’d say it’s a good show and you know it had crazy numbers, I think the craziest numbers in MTV history [of all time, of all time --Kanye], so it’s gonna be hard for shows to keep breaking that record, so I don’t expect every show to do it, but at the same time I think we def do deserve a little whatever –reward, or respect and maybe even another season. By having those numbers that other shows can’t hit, it must mean something. People like it.

Yeah, MTV will pump up a new show, but at the end of the day, promo means nothing because they just have to look at the ratings numbers.
Yeah, I mean the first season, there was def. controversy around it, it was the first one so, but if all those numbers and the following we had stays with us for the second [season] or whatever’s to come, then I guess it’s simple, you just know what sells.

Here’s an “F-Marry-Kill,” you have to F- one, Marry one, and Kill one: J-Woww, Snooki, and Angelina?
Wow, lol, you didn’t really give me many good options there, bro.

Are they all like your sisters or something?
Yeah, I mean I probably wouldn’t kill any of them… the “ef” thing, I can’t answer, we’ll see what happens [in season two], and uh, I WOULDN’T MARRY ANY OF THEM!

I don’t know if you’ve ever publicly commented on them, but what do you think of those adult p0rn parodies of Jersey Shore?
Haha, I’m flattered you know what I’m saying, that’s big time you know, even any show that comes out now with the Jersey thing, it’s like these people… even p0rn or whatever, it’s a big production. The executive producer puts their money up and bets on it being successful and all of these people putting their money up or whatever, based on our show, and that’s pretty flattering. But it’s also cool, once it reaches the p0rn thing, what reaches the p0rn thing? Pirates of the Caribbean [parodies], BIG ASS MOVIES, you know what I’m saying? So like the Jersey Shore, that’s a reality TV show that just made it out there, so that just shows the expansion of the ideas that happened with the show.

You’re from Shaolin/Staten Island, NY?
Yeah, man , home of the WU-[Tang]!

Oh, since you’re from Shaolin, did you ever go to that Wu-Tang [Wu-Wear] Store? [Since closed].
No I have not, I mean where they’re from, it’s not too far from me. There are two sides of Staten Island, there’s the kinda more hood side, where they’re from, and there’s where the rich Guido kids are from, and I’m like more where they’re from, the north side. I’ve seen Method Man walking around, and things like that. I def. wanna meet them. I’ve met mad people, but because they are who they are, they’re from my town and whenever I’m anywhere, an awards show, anything, and I hear them come on, I’m like yo!!!! They represent.

Are you a Howard Stern fan?
I used to watch him all the time, but when he went to satellite, I sorta stopped watching him, I’m sure that happened to a lot of people, every time I click his links and hear a little bit that he’s done recently, he keeps me laughing and shit like that. He’s a legend, ya know?

Speaking of celebrities, you’ve met a ton of them, who has left you star struck?
Obviously, I mean everybody’s heard about the Leo [DiCaprio] thing, Leo def. left me a little star struck, but he was so cool that I wasn’t really star struck after talking to him for a minute because he was mad chill. Fabolous got me really star struck, I was chilling with him for a minute and he’s like Fabolous you know what I’m saying, and I like him and he has that calm, cool, demeanor as well, kinda like how I keep it, and so all of these people, they influence me, and I learn from them and anybody who keeps that calm, cool demeanor, like I really, really, appreciate and respect. When I was chilling with Fab, I was like I’m chilling with a legend right now, and he’s a really nice guy.

You make a valid point because let’s say you’re backstage somewhere, and you see someone famous and you’re able to talk to them, you get passed all of that because you get to be one on one… but when you’re out to dinner for example, and someone famous gets seated next to you, and you have to wait to introduce yourself to them, it makes you a little more star struck.
Yeah, when you get that mystique with it, it makes you a little more crazy.

And I’m sure the chicks have that same feeling towards you?
I can’t believe it, but they do man, it’s crazy sometimes. When I go out anywhere where I know there’s gonna be girls in the teenage to early 20′s range, they just go CRAZY, ya know what I’m saying? They go crazy, there’s no other word to describe it. I just keep it regular with them, I wish I could shake all of their hands, ’cause I’m in the same boat, the way I’m talking about all of these other people, I haven’t been a celebrity my whole life, so I just wish I could tell them how much I appreciate it.

Yeah, I’ll talk to some college chicks, and I’ll say I know Vinny, I’m cool with Vinny, and they get all excited about Vinny, but I’m saying, where’s the excitement towards me? Lolz.
Yo, you gotta take the left-overs, man. Just use it, to be like, “oh yeah, one day I’ll introduce you.” My cousins, a couple of my cousins, they just introduce themselves, right off the bat, I’m whatever [name], my cousin is VINNY from the Jersey Shore, right off the bat, a second later, and they keep in contact with them, “oh yeah, we’ll chill, we’ll chill, this and that,” and the next thing you know, he’s friggin’ A$$-ing her up, and no Vinny… sorry!

Lolz! Now that we’ve done this interview, there’s more proof in my pudding now, (nullus brokeback!)

To continue, doesn’t Mike ‘The Situation’ have a brother that looks just like him?
Yes, he does…

I think I saw him on the book of face, and he looks like his doppelgänger!
Haha, yeah he has a couple of brothers.

I’m sure they’re in that same boat as your cousins, but anyway…

So with you guys being bona fide TV stars, how much do egos come into play?
I mean, everybody got their own thing, it’s the same, it’s like watching a boy band movie, when they start from nothing, and then the one person in the group has the big head, and this person wants to do this, and than this person stays humble, but for the most part, I would say that we keep it kinda like ya know, regular heads. Even Mike the Situation, I see him always going up to fans, I never seen him deny a picture [with a fan] before. But in the personal life, I don’t know, what happens afterwords.
It gets to you, you become very demanded and you become a little overwhelmed at times. It might seem like you’re becoming a little bit of a diva or egotistical, but ya know, like sometimes I’ll be in the mall, and I really just have to get something really quick, and like there’s nothing I can do, and [for example] I HAVE to get a pair of sunglasses, like I broke mine, I go the mall, I’m with somebody and I’ll maybe take a couple of pictures, and then like a frigging crowd of girls surround me, and I have to tell whoever I’m with, just let them know, I can’t do it right now, it’ll turn into a crazy thing and like someone out there might be a douchebag in the crowd that they might try to throw something at me, it can become like a real dangerous thing, and if I say no, I’ll look like an asshole to all of these girls now, so it’s hard. It’s a fine line between your ego or sometimes just trying to live for a minute.

If a stranger came up to you and called you a douche, would you be offended?
We get that, just from basic association from the show. People will be like, “go back to Jersey,” …and I’m like, “I’m not from Jersey, ya dick!” You def. get it from the basic association, but if you watch the show, you’re a fan of the show, and you really can’t call me a douchebag unless YOU’RE like a douchebag, because I really didn’t do anything “douchebag-ish,” but I wouldn’t get offended anyway, I’m sure I get called a douchebag a million times a day, just because people with their own insecurities wanna hate and people need to talk about people. You can be the nicest kid in the world, and somebody’s gotta be like, “yo, that kid’s an effing loser,” so I’m not offended at all. I read a lot of books and they teach me anything anyone else says about you, is their shit and it has nothing to do with you. So you let them live and have their own judgments and it doesn’t affect me at all.

Have you ever tried “Ed Hardy” liquor?
Nah, I never tried that, I heard about that though.

Yeah, I heard about the liquor, then I went to the store and I saw Ed Hardy wine, I even had a publicist send me a press release about Ed Hardy branded condoms.
Yeah, they go hard yo, they’re expanding, haha to everything.

When MTV came out and said season two is back in New Jersey, was that to throw people off?
It could have been I don’t know, it could have been, but we didn’t know the location, I told you we don’t know anything until the last minute. We had a feeling because all of the press was like, “oh yeah, you’re going to Florida or wherever,” but we honestly didn’t know for sure and we ended up IN Miami, that’s where it was, and then while we were there, we were totally cut off from the outside world. We don’t have computers or anything, so when you guys were hearing all of those rumors that kept starting about where it’s gonna be next, and replacing people and this and that, we would get whiffs of it, but we honestly had no idea about what you guys were hearing and now it’s just like whatever you guys are hearing about going back to Jersey, but we’ll see, like I said, I have no idea.

This isn’t a question, but just a comment. One thing I had heard, it has to do with a legal case, so I don’t expect you to comment, but one of the rumors was Sammi allegedly got into a fight with some girl, and the girl is suing MTV, and the only reason I bring it up, the funny part about it is that my friend hit me up and he’s like, “hey that girl that’s suing MTV, she went to our high school!” And I’m thinking in my head, yeah well, I that doesn’t really surprise me, because I went to high school with a bunch of shitheads!
Yeah man basically, honestly, I swear to you, I had no idea, while all that was happening, I know as much as you. Honestly, you probably know more than me, because like I said, when whatever things are going on in the news while we were there, we had no idea, and I really didn’t follow up on that particular thing that happened when I got home. So you probably know more than me.

How much of a hindrance was the extra attention when you were trying to film season two in Miami? (The fact that everyone knew who you all were).
Honestly, it wasn’t that much… a little bit, because you have people knowing you, running up to you for pictures all of the time, but it wasn’t really that bad. If people saw us acting normal, we weren’t acting like big celebrities, once you see there’s no movie set, there’s no script, there’s none of that, we’re just literally wandering about with cameras following us, and people started treating us like normal people, because you can only give that impression and have people react to you and so [we gave off the] impression that we’re just regular people. As much as people wanted to treat us like celebrities, we wouldn’t let them. We’re just like, “yo we’re having a drink with you at the bar,” so for the most part, it wasn’t. And Miami’s a pretty big place, and there were three other shows going on while we were filming and it wasn’t like a huge, huge, deal in the first place. It was just local people, and those hot Spanish girls don’t care.

How many top-less chicks did you see in Miami?
Not that many, not that many actually. Once and a while. I mean I dunno if we were going to the wrong beach but, haha, but they were pretty cool for the most part.

So what do you think of Tony DiSanto (President of Programming at MTV)?
Tony is my dude man, I’ve never experienced a guy like him before, he is like the president of MTV, and you’d think he’s like some untouchable guy, that’s what I thought when I first started, and then when I met him, I swear it’s like hanging out with one of my boys, it’s crazy! MTV’s kind of a big deal, I’ve had managers at STAPLES, who are like a little cocky and shit like that, and he’s the president of MTV and he’s the most down to earth person. You wouldn’t know who he is if you walk into a bar, ya know?

I feel bad if I goof on an MTV show on my blog, because Tony’s super nice.
Yeah, I mean it’s all business all around, but he really keeps it hard to be ‘business’ with, because he’s so nice, he’s like a nice ass guy.

Lastly, are you going to be touring around the country with club appearances?
When we got home from filming, we were doing a bunch of photo-shoots, and stuff like that, I’m doing appearances here and there, but once the show starts again, that’s usually what we do, is do some appearances, but I also have some bigger goals in mind that I’m gonna try to bang out as well.

THANKS, VINNY!

After the jump you will find the trailer for Jersey Shore Season 2 Miami:

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