Abercrombie pays Jersey Shore not to wear its clothes

A clothing company is offering money to Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and his fellow Jersey Shore cast members so they'll stop wearing the brand on the show.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. says in a news release posted Tuesday that it's concerned that having Sorrentino seen in its clothing could cause "significant damage" to the company's image.

Abercrombie says a connection to The Situation goes against the "aspirational nature" of its brand and may be "distressing" to customers. The Ohio-based retailer says it has offered a "substantial payment" to Sorrentino and producers of the MTV show so he'll wear something else.

The company says it also is making the offer to others in the hard-partying cast.

MTVfired back late Wednesday, saying the retailer's proposalis "a clever PR stunt."

"Its a clever PR stunt and wed love to work with them on other ways they can leverage Jersey Shore to reach the largest youth audience on television," said an MTV Spokesperson inthe statement.