Italian groups targeting 'Jersey Shore'

UNICO National, the Order of the Sons of Italy in America and the National Italian American Foundation have all voiced opposition to the new TV series, which premiered Thursday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Saturday.

The organizations all accuse "Jersey Shore," which features eight young adults living together in the East Coast area of stereotyping Italian-Americans. The organizations said they are particularly bothered by the show's use of the term "Guidos" to refer to young men and women with Italian-American backgrounds.

Mike Sorrentino, one of the show's stars, defended his cast members' lifestyle, which include drinking and sex.

"Everybody has their own style and their own attitude, and everybody was brought up different, and I'm happy to be who I am," Sorrentino told the Inquirer.

"I guess nobody in the older generation of Americans ... went out drinking or looking for girls," he added.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.