{alltv} Jersey Shore Apologizes Over "Tranny" Flap

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

{alltv} Jersey Shore Apologizes Over "Tranny" Flap

You don't even have to be a viewer of the show to know that there's a pretty long list of offenses for which the Jersey Shore producers owe an apology to the American public.

So which one was deemed egregious enough to warrant a long-awaited national mea culpa?

Why, the one which GLAAD deemed "one of the most blatantly transphobic scenes aired anywhere on television in the last few years." That's which one.

The scene came just minutes into the start of this week's reunion show, during a recap montage on nighttime hookups from the cast. Highlighted among them was a dubious alliance The Situation made at a club—he was the only one of his castmates who hadn't come to the conclusion that the object of his flirtations was a transgendered woman.

"All the clues that lead me to believe she's a man…We think Situation might've got himself into a situation with a tranny out here…If you have to think about it, it is. It's usually a tranny, stay away," were just examples of the oh-so-insightful commentary lobbed by the Jersey Shore stars, who also went on to declare the person in question a "trenade." (Tranny + grenade, for the uninitiated.)

Noah Webster would be so proud.

At the end of the highlight reel came some juxtaposing footage of juicehead Ronnie in a dress.

"I look good in yellow," he said after the clip finished, responding to a less than sensitive question by reunion show host Julissa Bermudez, who asked, "Who was that tranny? What was up with that?"

Well, MTV has come back, hat in greased-up hand, to admit that the segment may have been a bit much.

"We appreciate GLAAD voicing concern about the Jersey Shore reunion special," the network said in a statement. "The segment in question was certainly not meant to be insensitive, but in retrospect we realize that it was offensive to some viewers.

"We sincerely apologize."

Nice of them to say. Still, something tells us they shouldn't exactly hold their breath for an invite to this year's GLAAD Awards.