Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is denying claims that she is forcing the sport of cheerleading on her 6-year-old daughter, Giovanna LaValle. Nicole and her husband, Jionni LaValle, started their family together in 2012 when they welcomed their first son, Lorenzo. Since then, the couple has grown their family with two more children, Giovanna and Angelo.
After being a part of the Jersey Shore franchise since 2009, Nicole quit the show in 2019 following the drama that transpired at Angelina Pivarnick's wedding. At the time, Nicole explained that her priorities had changed since first starting the show. She no longer wanted to be faced with drama and fights. She preferred to be home with her three kids. Nicole has since returned to filming for the show; however, she does not partake in filming trips that force her to be away from her family for days at a time.
When she's not working, Nicole spends most of her time with her kids. As many fans know, Nicole's daughter is truly her mini-me. On Friday, Nicole posted a side-by-side comparison of an old photo of herself when she was a cheerleader and a current photo of her daughter cheering in the same pose. In the caption, Nicole wrote, "Super blessed that my daughter shares the same passion for cheer like I do." She then shared her excitement for cheerleading becoming an Olympic sport. Fans were quick to attack Nicole in the comments section of the post. Many claimed that she is forcing her own passion of cheerleading on her young daughter.
Nicole retaliated at the critics on her Instagram Story. She shared numerous screenshots of negative comments she received, as well as her responses to the remarks. One user wrote, "Shared passion and being forced to do it from a young age are very different things." They continued on to accuse Nicole of "living [her] dream through [Giovanna]." Another noted that Nicole "molded" her daughter into cheering, while a third user joked that Giovanna did not even have a choice. Jersey Shore's Nicole defended her parenting skills, assuring all of these critics that she did in fact have Giovanna in different sports and activities such as dance and soccer; however, Giovanna personally prefers to do cheerleading just like her mom.
Reading through the negative comments, Nicole did not understand why people cared so much. She then joked, "I wasn't aware allowing my kid to play sports at a young age was a crime." With every negative comment came love and support from others. Some of Nicole's Jersey Shore co-stars were found in the comments section raving over how much Giovanna resembles Nicole. Even Vinny Guadagnino joked that he can never tell Jersey Shore's Nicole and Giovanna apart. At least Nicole will always have her roomies to lean on.
Jersey Shore: Family Vacation airs Thursdays at 8pm on MTV.