Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is taking fans back to the boardwalk.
The 36-year-old is claiming that a “Jersey Shore” producer told police to arrest her on the beach for public intoxication while cameras filmed Season 3.
“Those cops weren’t on shift for the town,” Polizzi said on Wednesday’s episode of the “Therapuss with Jake Shane” podcast, as she recalled the infamous scene that aired on the MTV series.
“They were on shift from production to make sure they are protecting us from crazy people,” she continued. “So I don’t even think it’s legal because they weren’t working for the town, but I watched the video back and one of the producers said, ‘Just arrest her.’”
Polizzi admitted that she “started to black out” when the authorities handcuffed her.
The mom of three was arrested and booked in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, on July 30, 2010, for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and criminal annoyance. Two months later, the charges were dropped, and Polizzi was fined $500 and given two days of community service.
Meanwhile, the “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” star’s arrest aired months later in an episode titled “Where’s the Beach?”
Polizzi was drinking at her job before heading to a bar and then going to the beach, where the drama ensued.
“I woke up that day, and I was drinking nonstop,” she told host Jake Shane. “So you know when you wake up and you feel like the shakes are coming? You’re like, ‘I’m going to s–t, I’m going to throw up, but I have to be on camera and I have to go [to] this shift,’ so I woke up still in my party dress, with my blanket on, walking to my shift.”
Once at work, Polizzi drank Four Loko, a Long Island Iced Tea, and a beer in an effort to stop “the shakes,” she explained.
“I was like ‘I can’t do this,’” she recalled. “So that’s when I ran. I just ran to the bar. I took shots just to start feeling better, and then I just didn’t stop.”
Polizzi shared that drinking made her feel “good” and she ended up meeting “random people” and even “made out with an old man.”
“It was a nightmare, but I had a great time,” the reality star teased.
As fans may recall, once on the sand, Polizzi yelled, “Where’s the beach?” before being apprehended by officers.
“I knew the beach was right there, but my drunk self was like, ‘How do I get on the beach?’” she expressed. “There’s only a certain amount of entries to get on the beach. I couldn’t find them anywhere, so I was like, ‘Where’s the beach? How do I get on the beach?’ And the guy’s like, ‘Right there,’ and I’m like, ‘I know, moron. How do I get on the beach?’”
At the time of her arrest, Polizzi said she was “too pretty to be in jail.”
Afterward, the New Jersey native downplayed the incident.
“I had a couple cocktails, and they just put me in a drunk tank to sober me up. I was on the beach. It happens to the best of us, and I’m not planning on going back to jail ever again,” she said at the time.
But fast-forward to 2024, and Polizzi is back on MTV for “Jersey Shore: Family Vacation” alongside Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Deena Cortese, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, Pauly “DJ Pauly D” Delvecchio, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Angelina Pivarnick.
Polizzi’s views have now shifted from partying to raising her three children, Lorenzo, 12, Giovanna, 9, and Angelo, 5, whom she shares with her husband, Jionni LaValle.
The couple met while filming “Jersey Shore” in 2012 and married two years later.
Polizzi has continued to share snapshots of their life over the years, most recently celebrating her oldest child’s birthday.
“I HAVE A 12 YEAR OLD,” she wrote on Instagram Tuesday. “Happy Birthday to my first born baby who changed my entire life. you deserve the whole world baby. I love you!!!!”
