BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Snooki is quite pleased with herself.
The most familiar face on MTV's "Jersey Shore," Snooki (aka Nicole Polizzi) is just snookin' — even when she's hauled off to jail for public drunkenness.
"Well, obviously it wasn't a good time," Snooki said. "But, you know, I didn't hurt anybody, and I just went out to have a good time on the beach. And, you know, stuff like that happens in Jersey. I didn't hurt anybody."
Maybe not. But she was arrested on July 30 after beachgoers in Seaside Heights, N.J., reported that a drunken Snooki was bothering them.
But it was no big deal, according to Snooki.
"I was in the drunk tank for a little bit," she said nonchalantly. "I had too many tequilas."
"It happens," said DJ Pauly D (Paul DelVecchio), one of her "Jersey Shore" castmates.
"It happens," agreed The Situation (Michael Sorrentino), another castmate.
Well, this kind of stuff happens to them, certainly.
If you've never seen an episode of "Jersey Shore" (Thursdays, 11 p.m., MTV), essentially it's about a group of twentysomethings — Guidos and Guidettes — who share a house at the beach. As portrayed on MTV, they spend most of their time tanning, having casual sex, getting drunk and promoting Italian-American stereotypes.
"We're not trying to portray Italian-Americans," said JWoww (Jenni Farley). "We're just trying to portray …
"Ourselves," interjected The Situation.
"We don't represent every Italian-American in the world," said DJ Pauly D. "It just so happens I'm Italian, and I'm proud to be Italian. Proud of my heritage."
"I happen to have spiky hair and a six pack, green eyes. It's working out pretty good for me," The Situation said.
"I'm not Italian. It's, like, the lifestyle that you live," said JWoww.
In a way, they're taking heat for the way MTV promoted the show. And MTV's promotion really played up the Italian-American angle.
Of course, regardless of national origin, there's little argument that the cast is modeling bad behavior. Unless you think casual sex, drinking and excessive tanning is good behavior.
"You know what? We are just a bunch of honest twentysomethings," said The Situation.
"We're living our life, and they're filming it," said DJ Pauly D.
Not everyone sees it as quite that simple. Including one Italian-American who has a long history on television — Tony Danza.
The former star of "Taxi," "Who's the Boss" and a slew of other TV shows has a reality show of his own coming on A&E in October. In "Teach," Danza spent a year as a teacher at an urban high school in Los Angeles.
And, as far as he's concerned, MTV's hit show is sort of a menace.
"I think shows like 'Jersey Shore' make it harder on teachers in general," Danza said. "Every day I tell kids, 'Good behavior will pay off. Promise. Good behavior will pay off.'
"And then they go home and watch that show and say, 'Wait a minute. Mr. Danza, you're wrong. Bad behavior pays off.' "
It's certainly paying off for the members of the "Jersey Shore" cast. They've become rich and famous because of bad behavior. And not just from their salaries — several of them are making money off endorsements and side deals.
"My 'Snooktionary' is coming out, and you'll understand my language," said Snooki. And she wasn't kidding.
Danza didn't point the finger at "Jersey Shore" cast members themselves but at those who decided to put them on the air.
"What is our responsibility? he asked. "We yell about bad schools and bad teachers and failing schools, and then we put shows on like that that give the kids the wrong model. And then we're surprised when they act out."
He said he was working out at a gym when the subject of "Jersey Shore" came up. "And this very, very wealthy woman … said, 'Oh, I despise those people on that show.'
"And I couldn't help it. I had to point out to her that, 'How do you feel about the guys in the suits you had dinner with last night that put that show on?' I mean, because you can hate the kids, but it's Viacom. It's the big companies."
But don't hold your breath waiting for any apologies from anybody at MTV. "Jersey Shore" is a success, and if it's modeling bad behavior to a generation of young Americans, well, who cares?
"It's really a reality family comedy with heart," said Tony DiSanto, MTV's president of programming and development.
And he said it with a straight face.
e-mail: pierce@desnews.com