The Jersey Shore cast is opening up about what their kids think of their wild times on reality TV.
On Friday, Nov. 8, several cast members from the iconic TV series spoke exclusively to PEOPLE at the New York City premiere of the horror film Devon — which marks Jenni “JWoww” Farley’s directorial debut — and revealed their kids’ reactions to their past exploits on the MTV series.
Farley, 38, says she “can’t control” her kids — Meilani, 10, and Greyson, 8 — from seeing clips online from the show of their mom partying, but jokes to them: “I pay for your college.”
Jenni ‘JWoww’ Farley with her kids Meilani and Greyson in May 2024.
John Nacion/Getty
“Therefore. do as I say, not as I do,” Farley continues. “But my daughter is quick with it. She’ll be like, ‘Ma, you peed behind a bar. Like, are you really gonna tell me that I can’t have my phone past 9 p.m.?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, yes, I was 25 when I did that. Calm down.’ ”
Meanwhile, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi tells PEOPLE that her three kids — Lorenzo, 11, Giovanna, 10, and Angelo, 5 — are all on TikTok and have seen some scandalous clips of the show.
“They see clips here and there,” Polizzi, 36, says. “They saw me get arrested on the beach. They’re like ‘Mom, what is this?’ So as of right now, I’m an actress and this is just, this is an acting show.”
“Until they’re at that age, I’ll be like, ‘Yeah, mommy was crazy before I had you,’ ” she jokes. “So that’s where we’re at right now.”
Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi and husband Jionni LaValle with kids Lorenzo, Giovanna and Angelo.
Snooki /Instagram
According to a synopsis, Farley’s film Devon tells the story of a missing girl who disappeared from a notorious asylum.
“Years after the incident, a mysterious website draws five adventurers to the abandoned asylum where she was last seen,” the synopsis states. “Armed with cameras, they plunge into the darkness, unaware they’re filming their own descent into horror — never meant to return.”
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Farley opened up about just how involved Polizzi was in the production of the project, and recalled how she was first inspired to create the film when she and Polizzi visited Pennsylvania’s Pennhurst Asylum on Snooki & JWoww.
“I always told Nicole, my dream is to make — just like her dreams for the Snooki shops — my dreams (were) horror movies,” Farley tells PEOPLE.
“So Nicole has been there every step of the way. I would send her casting. I would tell her, ‘This is what I’m doing.’ And it got to a point where she got so pissed off that I didn’t bring her and I felt so bad, but I was like, ‘I didn’t think you wanna go. It’s a small budget.’ She’s like, ‘No, I wanna find ghosts,’ ” she continues. “So when it came to Nicole — ride or die.”
Also at the event — which marked the world premiere of Devon — the gang could be seen filming season 8 of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. Polizzi says she’s thankful for the group still being able to spend time together after all these years.
“It’s just crazy that we’re all still together and we all still have the same bond even stronger than before,” she says. “So, the fact that we’re still here, we’re doing the episodes, we’re doing the seasons and the fans still watch us. I’m so grateful for that.”
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