Reality television MTV first introduced Snooki in
Is She Really Going Out with Him?, a show that focused on women dating obnoxious or arrogant men. Snooki and her boyfriend, Justin, appeared in episode 14, "Jerz Pud". Snooki became part of the reality TV series
Jersey Shore after being scouted by the casting director, Josh Allouche, an employee of
Doron Ofir Casting.
The New York Times identified her as "the breakout member of the cast". According to
The New York Times, her actions on the show have caused her to be the target of public disdain while having a "strange appeal". At the height of the show's popularity, Snooki was reportedly earning $150,000 per episode. While shooting in Seaside Heights, Snooki was punched in the face by New York City school gym teacher Brad Ferro. The punch, while shown in previews, was blacked out during showings of the episode. Videos of the punch went
viral on
YouTube and were featured in many news media. After the punch was made public, Snooki's appearance fees increased from $2,000 per event to $10,000 per event. In 2011, Snooki and her
Jersey Shore costar,
Jennifer Farley, signed a contract to star in a spin-off show,
Snooki & Jwoww, which premiered on
MTV in June 2012. The first season followed Snooki and Farley moving in together, and they describe their show like a modern-day
Laverne & Shirley. 495 Productions filmed the first season over the course of six weeks, at a former two-story firehouse located near Grove and Mercer Streets in
Jersey City, New Jersey. The second season relocated to the stars' actual permanent residences and began airing on January 8, 2013. This season had an expanded one-hour episode format. The March 2012 confirmation of Snooki's pregnancy raised speculation as to how the creative direction of her spin-off would be affected, as she would be unable to engage in the "hard-partying, booze-swilling" antics that had previously garnered high ratings for MTV. The show chronicled her days in pregnancy and early years in motherhood and ran for four seasons before concluding in February 2015. On September 4, 2013, it was announced on
Good Morning America that Snooki would compete on the 17th season of
Dancing with the Stars, partnered with newcomer
Sasha Farber. They were eliminated on October 28, 2013, coming in 8th place despite receiving good scores and comments from the judges. In early 2016, Snooki starred with her husband on the
f.y.i. series ''Nicole & Jionni's Shore Flip
. Since November 2015, Snooki has starred with Farley on the web series Snooki & Jwoww: Moms With Attitude
produced by AwesomenessTV. The show wrapped its second season in late 2017. On January 28, 2016, it was announced that she would be a contestant on The New Celebrity Apprentice''.
Other television appearances Snooki was a presenter at the 2010
CMT Music Awards. On July 27, 2010, the cast of
Jersey Shore appeared at the
New York Stock Exchange, and Snooki rang the opening bell. Snooki and the cast of
Jersey Shore appeared at the 2010
MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. Snooki also appeared on
TLC's
Cake Boss episode "Snookie, Super Anthony & a Ship" on November 8, 2010, in which she orders a cake for her mom. On November 7, 2010, Snooki appeared at the
MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid, Spain. She was subsequently parodied in the
South Park episode "
It's a Jersey Thing", and is frequently parodied on
Saturday Night Live by actor
Bobby Moynihan. She also hosted the
MTV New Year's special ''MTV's Club New Year's Eve 2013'', with
Jwoww and
Jeff Dye, on December 31, 2012, from
Times Square, to ring in 2013. Snooki made an appearance on the March 14, 2011, episode of
WWE Monday Night Raw, where she had a segment with
John Morrison,
Vickie Guerrero and
Dolph Ziggler. During the segment, she slapped Vickie, starting a
feud with the couple. Later at night, she got into a brawl with
LayCool, which led to the formation of a six-person Mixed Tag Team match at
WrestleMania XXVII. Snooki made an appearance on the March 28, 2011, episode of
WWE Monday Night Raw in a segment where Snooki introduces
Trish Stratus to the Jersey Shore, where they started a street fight with LayCool in a bar. At Wrestlemania, Snooki and her partners Trish Stratus and John Morrison won the match. On December 12, 2011, on WWE RAW, she was awarded the
WWE 2011 A-Lister of the Year Slammy Award which she accepted via satellite.
Other ventures In January 2011, Snooki's book,
A Shore Thing, was released; it described her search for love on the boardwalk. Despite a promotional campaign that included appearances by Snooki on
The View,
The Ellen DeGeneres Show,
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and the
Late Show with David Letterman, the book was not a sales success. It sold approximately 9,000 copies within its first month of release, during which it accumulated 16 one-star customer reviews on
Amazon.com. One publishing executive said the book sold poorly because "rather than a tell-all, it was disguised as a novel." In April 2011, Snooki was paid $32,000 to speak at
Rutgers University. Topics she spoke about included what being a celebrity is like and what she thinks is important in school, including the advice: "Study hard, but party harder". Some students complained the school's money would have been better used on speakers other than Snooki. Rutgers spokesman Steve Manas responded that the extension of the invitation to Snooki resulted from canvassing by students, who indicated whom they wanted to invite. Over 1,000 people attended Snooki's engagement. On October 25, 2011, Snooki's second book,
Confessions of a Guidette, was released with
Gallery Books. The book was marketed as a part-
memoir, part-
guide of how to "rock it
Jersey-style. Snooki's third book,
Gorilla Beach, was released on May 15, 2012. It is a sequel to Snooki's first book,
A Shore Thing. In January 2012, Snooki's Team Snooki Boxing co-promoted a cooperative venture with Final Round Promotions, a boxing card at
Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, featuring Irish featherweight boxer
Patrick Hyland fighting and winning in the main event before a capacity crowd. Hyland's two brothers Eddie and Paul, also boxers, appeared in preliminary bouts. The event attracted considerable publicity in the boxing press. ==Personal life==