Abercrombie & Fitch Co, a popular teen clothing retailer, is offering money for the the cast of Jersey Shore not to wear it’s clothes.

The company is “deeply concerned” that Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino “could cause significant damage” to the brand’s “aspirational nature.” MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc, released a statement in response that called Abercrombie’s offer “a clever PR stunt.”

“We’d love to work with them on other ways they can leverage Jersey Shore to reach the largest youth audience on television,” the statement said.
“Jersey Shore” features a cast of twenty-something Italian Americans partying, tanning and complaining about their jobs at a beach-front T-shirt stand.

The offer could be considered an abrupt about-face for a company that previously sold T-shirts emblazoned with the wording “The Fitchuation,” and “G.T.L.” — the show’s common reference to a pre-party routine of “gym, tan laundry.”

Abercrombie Chief Executive Officer Mike Jeffries was eager to broach the topic on a conference call with analysts.
“Is no one going to ask about The Situation?” he asked.

When an analyst did ask, Jeffries said: “Last Friday morning I was with a group of people here and someone came up and said, ‘Mike, I have terrible, terrible news for you. Last night on ‘Jersey Shore‘ The Situation had A&F product on.”
Jeffries said he and the group agreed it was “terrible news.”

That is when they came up with the idea to pay the cast not to wear their product, Jeffries said.
“We’re having a lot of fun with it,” he added.

The Situation, for his part, tweeted: “Looks like Abercrombie got themself into a Situation!” linking to an article that commented on the retailer’s shares falling 8.7 percent on Wednesday.

The share price fall was more widely attributed by analysts to CEO Mike Jeffries‘ comments in a conference call that Abercrombie was entering a period of greater uncertainty.

While seen as more of a publicity stunt than anything else, Abercrombie’s offer was mentioned in notes on Wednesday by Wall Street analysts.
“No love for ‘Jersey Shore!’” Nomura Securities Analyst Peter Lejuez wrote in a report titled, “Jersey abs not welcome here.”

Lejuez said shoppers in Europe, a region in which he says Abercrombie is eager to expand, may not like the look of the rambunctious reality show’s cast.
“They have a different look than The Situation,” Lejuez said in an interview.

Abercrombie also reported earnings on Wednesday that beat analysts’ expectations.
The results prompted Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi to write: “Management may be correct in asking (and offering to pay) the cast of ‘Jersey Shore‘ to stop donning its logo-wear. It doesn’t need the infusion of MTV and side-job dollars from the ‘Jersey Shore‘ crew, if 2Q11 was any indication.”

Sozzi said he found the offer to be “counter to everything the company stands for.”
“They have half-naked teenagers standing in front of their store,” he said, adding that the attention would help sales for the back-to-school season.

Still, those sales might need help. A cautious outlook from executives sent Abercrombie shares down 8.7 percent at the market close to $64.87.

Interesting way to promote your product. I guess it got the name Abercrombrie & Fitch out there at least. It does kinda make me want to shop.

Would you pay the cast of Jersey Shore not to wear your clothes? Is this all just a PR stunt? I think so.

Source Fame

Fred Durst goes out for an early brithday celebration dinner at Mr. Chow restaurant in Beverly Hills. He was accompanied joined by his Esther Nazarov, family and friends. Fred’s actual birthday is this Saturday August 20th.

Photos: Fame

Little Harry Potter,22, is all grown up! He has been spotted dating a cute young brunette but didn’t reveal who she was.

Fans have been wondering who this girl is. The UK’s Daily Mail has finally put a name to the face. Her name is Rosanne Coker, also 22.

Radcliffe and Coker met while she was working as a production assistant on the set of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince back in 2007. They continued to work together on the final two Harry Potter films and then joined up again for the film The Woman In Black. It is to be out in 2012.

The two began dating about a year ago. Rosanne is the daughter of Malcolm Coker, a successful painter and decorator. He recently opened up about his daughter dating such a famous guy.

“They would really prefer to keep things quiet,” Coker said. “But Rosanne has worked on the last three Harry Potter films, so she and Daniel have known each other quite a long time. But they have been going out for just over a year now. I have met Daniel and he is a lovely guy. I’m just really happy for Rosanne, and as long as she is happy that is all that matters to me.”

The couple reportedly splits their time between her family’s home in Surrey and Radcliffe’s posh NYC apartment.

“They have a lot of fun together and at their age, what more could you ask? Who knows where it is going to lead?” Coker added.

Although Radcliffe didn’t reveal Coker’s identity at the time, he told Larry King in July: “I’ve got a girlfriend at the moment, who I am very much in love with. So you know, we’ll see where that goes.”

See Daniel and Rosanne’s picture at US Weekly!

Source Fame

Actor Jason Momoa was spotting making his way back to his car after eating at Planet Hollywood in NYC. His film Conan The Barbarian will be making it’s debut today. It’s a remake of the 1982 of film of the same title which originally starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Photos: Fame

She’s never had a reputation for being the sweetest of the bunch.

Gwyneth Paltrow, 38, is receiving different opinions on her behavior lately in New York’s Hamptons this summer. An insider from the Maidstone Club says that Paltrow is sweet to all the staff. Another source claim that is anything but the truth.

Here’s an example. Recently a traveler kindly gave Paltrow’s housekeeper a ride from the bus stop to her home. Instead of thanking the driver, Gwyneth reprimanded the driver for his actions.

“Gwyneth was mad that the maid showed strangers where she lived,” the insider tells Us. “Gwyneth said, ‘Please don’t give my maid a ride again!’”

Paltrow’s rep denies she got huffy over the help. “Her housekeeper has a car, and Gwyneth would never say something like that.”

I personally think Gwyneth would say something like that.

Source Fame

Singer Elton John and partner David Furnish arrive at Club 55 by boat. The pair are in St. Tropez, France. They have with them their adorable son Zachary John-Furnish.

Photos: Fame

Well Kat Von D had some bad news finding out that her TLC show LA Ink had been cancelled. Just hours after that announcement, we found out that she and Jesse James are back together and the engagement is on.

Here’s what Jesse James had to say about the situation.

“Sometimes you are only given one chance in life,” James told People Magazine in an exclusive statement regarding the reconciliation.

“It was up to me to open my eyes and see it. That girl is my chance. I will never stop fighting and striving to hold on to her. Showing her how special she is, and how much I love her.”

Leaving nobody in any doubt that they’re back on – the duo posted photos of themselves together on their respective Twitter accounts on Thursday, with James adding the caption “para siempre” which translates from Spanish to “forever”.

Hmmm…. forever? I am not so sure about that one. What do you think? Will these two last?

Source Fame