NEED TO KNOW
Mike Sorrentino revealed he was secretly going through opioid withdrawal during the infamous neck brace moment on Jersey Shore
Sorrentino claimed MTV gave him an ultimatum to go to rehab after the incident or risk losing his spot on the show
Sorrentino, now 11 years sober, reflects on the moment as life-changing despite it being his “worst moment” on TV
Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was going through more than most viewers know during the infamous Jersey Shore cast trip to Florence, Italy.
During the fourth season of the MTV reality show, the crew all went on a trip to Italy, where more drama unfolded around the cast’s shifts at a pizza place. Toward the end of the trip, Sorrentino had to be carried out of the house on a stretcher when he ran his head into a wall. For much of the rest of the season, he appeared with a neck brace.
Though the image of Sorrentino decked out in his shades and neck brace has become a memorable moment from the series, he admitted on Carl Radke’s podcast More Life with Carl Radke that he was actually going through withdrawals at the time — which led to his injury.
Mike Sorrentino on ‘Jersey Shore’ season 4
Credit: MTV
“I mean, that was essentially like a metaphor for my life, right?” he said. “I literally and figuratively hit a wall, right, and I needed to.”
Sorrentino is about to celebrate 11 years sober this year after spending years struggling with an opioid addiction. He first confessed publicly to his substance usage in 2012, when he checked himself into a 60-day stint in rehab. He relapsed years later when a rib injury led to a painkiller prescription, and he told PEOPLE in 2017, “From there it was just a spiral.”
“I actually, to this day, now being where I am in life, I celebrate that time, you know what I mean?” Sorrentino admitted on the podcast. “I actually currently right now I got a guy making a sculpture of me, you know, with the neck brace and sunglasses. Because it’s a very iconic moment in reality TV, but it’s one of the times that, you know, shook me to my core.”
Though he may be able to “celebrate” that point in time, he shared more about his emotional state during the scene that led to that “iconic moment in reality TV.”
“At that moment, I really wanted no part of it because I was going through withdrawal for the last day or two, and no one knew about it but me,” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, man. I’m about to go through withdrawal on one of the biggest TV shows in the country.’ “
He said that despite the ratings that scene pulled in for MTV, it was his “worst moment” — and actually led to the network giving Sorrentino an ultimatum.
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“When I got home, MTV sent me the letter, and they gave me the ultimatum. And they said, ‘If Mike “The Situation” doesn’t go to rehab and come back “The Situation” that we love from season 1, then don’t come back at all.’ And that shook me too. Because I believed that I was meant to be on reality TV, and I was born for that, and I was about to ruin it and ruin my dreams.”
Elsewhere in the interview, he said the virality of the on-screen injury is “a mind f–k” for him.
“It actually is my worst moment, right? But it is the most iconic moment,” he said. “Like for me, everybody knows the neck brace and sunglasses moment. And every single year for Halloween, I’m a Halloween character every single year. It’s like a mind f–k, right? That your worst moment on TV turned out to almost be like your best moment, where it changed your life.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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