Scott Gries / MTV
The cast of Jersey Shore is seeking a huge raise—$10,000 per episode, a massive increase over the few hundred bucks per episode they were paid for the first season. The stars are sticking together like the cast of Friends, saying that if they don’t all get the raise, none of them will return. They argue that the cast of The Hills gets $100,000 per episode, and that show’s ratings aren’t as high. On Thursday night, 4.8 million people tuned in to watch Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, "Pauly D" Delvecchio, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, and Jenni "J-Woww" Farley on the season finale. The young reality-TV stars are certainly cashing in elsewhere—they earn as much as $10,000 for personal appearances, were invited to Diddy’s “Sweet Sixteen” party for his son, and Ellen DeGeneres wants Snooki to be her date to the Grammys.