MTV’s Jersey Shore spin-off Floribama Shore hasn’t even premiered yet, but it already has a campaign against it.
The Flora-Bama Lounge and Oyster Bar, located on the Florida/Alabama border, has a problem with the name of the newest MTV reality TV show, previously having sent the network a cease-and-desist letter over the similar name.
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A source told Page Six that the legal notice “seems to be without merit, and that consumers won’t confuse the show with the bar.”
With that in mind, the Flora-Bama Lounge has begun a social media campaign, #onlyoneflorabama, in which the owners have asked people to contact Viacom CEO Bob Bakish and MTV president Chris McCarthy about the matter.
“For 53 years THE Flora-Bama has been slinging drinks, tossing mullets, entertaining people from around the world, and hosting live music,” the bar said in a statement, adding that it has “survived a fire, several hurricanes, bad economies, and the worst oil spill in our nation’s history. Yet, we’ve recently learned that MTV and Viacom are using our name and reputation to promote their latest ‘reality’ series, after approaching us in 2013 about the same. We’ve asked them to stop. They’ve refused…There is only ONE Flora-Bama.”
The show has a very similar set-up to smash hit Jersey Shore, but will take place in Panama City Beach.
Here are the eight cast members seeking reality TV fame: Jeremiah Buoni: 22, Amelia Island, Florida; Codi Butts: 25, Westminster, South Carolina; Kortni Gilson: 21, Panama City Beach, Florida; Aimee Hall: 24, Perdido, Alabama; Kirk Medas: 25, Atlanta, Georgia; Nilsa Prowant: 23, Panama City Beach, Florida; Candace Rice: 24, Memphis, Tennessee; Gus Smyrnios: 22, Tallahassee, Florida.
Floribama Shore premieres Monday, Nov. 27, at 10 p.m. ET on MTV.
