Brighton Beach has got itself a situation.
Much like its "Jersey Shore" predecessor, the Lifetime-produced "Brighton Beach" reality show is drawing anger from Brooklynites who claim the made-for-tv antics won't represent the true character of the neighborhood, reported local blog Sheepsheadbites.com yesterday.
Just a few weeks into shooting the 12-episode series, which the network has said will follow "colorful families" in the Russian-American community, locals residents and activists have reportedly written a letter to the network expressing their prediction that the show will become the “highly contentious and ethnically derogatory 'Jersey Shore.' ”
The letter, led by founder of the Russian-Speaking American Leadership Caucus John Lisyanskiy, went on to say:
“It has come to our attention that the casting call for the show sought out ‘the Russian Snooki and The Situation,’ reducing would-be contestants to vodka-drinking ethnic caricatures who ‘love attention’ and do little more than ‘eat, drink and party.’ ”
The outlet reports other groups supporting the letter include Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, Councilman Domenic Recchia and the Brighton Neighborhood Association, to name a few.
According to the blog, the cast of the show has been spotted around the neighborhood, but business owners are reportedly forbidden to discuss what they've seen because of disclosure agreements with the network.
But the network is already at work trying to squash the "Jersey Shore" comparison, according to the outlet.
“It’s a multi-generational women’s story about life in the community,” network spokesman Michael Feeney told The New York Times last month. “It’s done in the Lifetime voice, not in the MTV voice.”
The MTV-produced "Jersey Shore" has long drawn criticism from Italian-Americans who claim the show is offensive to their culture.
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