Just when you thought the cast members of MTV’s The Jersey Shore couldn’t sink any lower, they promote false birth control information on cable television. In a recent appearance on ABC’s The View, Mike, "The Situation" Sorrentino agreed with host Sherri Shepherd’s statement that hot tub water is warm enough to kill sperm, thus eliminating the need for contraception.
It is clear that the television hosts were being pressured to discuss racy topics with Sorrentino and the other guest, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, presumably to boost ratings and garner a reaction. While Shepherd and Sorrentino may have been joking (I hope), with the overwhelming number of abstinence-only education programs and the rising rate of teen pregnancy, you’d think public figures would be a little more responsible regarding statements than can be quoted and replayed for all of eternity.
In the mind-numbing interview, host Joy Behar grills Sorrentino on his safe sex practices and inquires as to his method of protection in a hot tub, because as we all know, when using a condom in the water “the thing can come off.” Shepherd then chimes in with “the hot water will kill all the sperm,” to which Sorrentino replies “It’s really hot water. It takes care of business.”
For the love of Mike! Of course we knew before this interview that these people weren’t role models by any means; The Jersey Shore is widely maligned as a contemptuous piece of youth culture trash. Maybe you got lucky by signing onto a seedy reality show that happened to get popular, but even if you didn’t earn your source of influence, wouldn’t you want to use it for good, not evil?
Someone needs to clean up the mess he made by circulating the correct information: when a man ejaculates he releases up to 500 million sperm, and it only takes one of those little buggers to get a woman pregnant. There is nothing in water (even hot water) that can kill sperm or protect you from sexually transmitted diseases. It is not a good idea to use a condom in water, so either get out of the tub before you start or have a backup method ready.
Now that's a statement worth quoting.