Situation Brewing Between Abercrombie & Fitch and 'Jersey Shore' Star

Aug. 17, 2011 — -- Abercrombie & Fitch does not want Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino to wear their clothing. Yes, the same company that markets thong underwear to pre-teen girls and padded bikini tops to 7-year-olds would prefer if the rapscallion Romeo of MTV's "Jersey Shore" stopped rocking their logo.

And if asking nicely isn't enough, they'll pay him to stop donning their duds.

The retailer put out a statement Tuesday titled "A Win-Win Situation," saying it has a "deep concern" over the connection between Sorrentino and the brand. A&F offered a "substantial payment" to the 29-year-old reality TV star "to wear an alternate brand."

Recent "Jersey Shore" episodes have featured Sorrentino strutting down the streets of Florence in neon green A&F sweatpants and lifting up his shirt to reveal the label of his A&F underwear, along with his six-pack abs. (Don't they like that kind of thing?)

"We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans," the company said. A&F also offered to pay off Sorrentino's "Jersey Shore" castmates.

A representative for Sorrentino declined ABCNews.com's request for comment, and the star, a frequent Twitter user, has yet to post anything about it online.

It's an unusual move for A&F, which all but asked for controversy when it debuted a line of thong underwear for girls in 2002 (panties were printed with the phrases "eye candy" and "wink wink") and continues to employ the "less is more" strategy when it comes to dressing its models for ad campaigns. The company has also settled several lawsuits in the last decade, some of which involved allegations of discrimination against Asian, African-American and female employees.