The Situation: 'Jersey Shore' Star Suing Abercrombie and Fitch for $4 Million

When Abercrombie and Fitch announced a campaign back in August claiming that they had offered the cast of "Jersey Shore" (and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino in particular) good money to stop wearing A&F clothes, there were a lot of cheers and plenty of chuckles.

Apparently The Situation didn't find it all that amusing.

Sorrentino and his lawyers filed a lawsuit for $4 million against the clothing manufacturer this week for false advertising, alleging they never received the offer the company joked about.

In August of this year, Abercrombie & Fitch put out a press release titled "Abercrombie & Fitch Proposes a Win-Win Situation."

"We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image. We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans," said the statement.

But they didn't stop there.

"We have therefore offered a substantial payment to Michael 'The Situation' Sorrentino and the producers of MTV's 'The Jersey Shore' to have the character wear an alternate brand. We have also extended this offer to other members of the cast, and are urgently waiting a response," said the A&F release.

And that's where the legal trouble starts, as far as The Situation and his attorneys are concerned. They claim they never actually received any kind of offer from the company.

"Starting in August 2011, Defendant (the company) embarked on a grand, worldwide advertising campaign using Sorrentino's name, image and likeness to create brand awareness for its products by falsely claiming that Defendant had offered money to Sorrentino if he would stop wearing Defendant's goods. That offer was never made to Sorrentino, nor was it ever conveyed to Sorrentino by a representative."  

As the New York Daily News point out, well before the company decided it disliked "Jersey Shore" and it's cast, they were perfectly willing to sell t-shirt using Shore-friendly phrases like "GTL…You Know The Deal" and "The Fitchuation," so there's a pretty reasonable case for the company trading on his name and likeness, especially since he owns the trademarks on "GTL" (Gym, Tan, Laundry) and "The Situation."

What do you think? Is The Situation right to sue Abercrombie & Fitch for their anti-Shore ad campaign or should he learn how to take a joke?