Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) isn’t too wild about MTV’s new reality show, “Buckwild.”
The show is scheduled to debut next month and follows a group of nine twenty-somethings living in and around Sissonville, W.Va., a town of just 4,000 residents. The program has been described as “The ‘Jersey Shore’ of Appalachia,” referring to the now-canceled reality show that earned the ire of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and state lawmakers.
In the case of “Buckwild,” Manchin said he’s only seen previews for the show — but that the teases that staffers showed him were enough to compel him to send a letter Friday to MTV President Stephen Friedman asking that the network “put a stop to the travesty called ‘Buckwild.’”
“As a U.S. Senator, I am repulsed at this business venture, where some Americans are making money off of the poor decisions of our youth,” Manchin wrote. “I cannot imagine that anyone who loves this country would feel proud profiting off of ‘Buckwild.’”
“Instead of showcasing the beauty of our people and our state, you preyed on young people, coaxed them into displaying shameful behavior — and now you are profiting from it. That is just wrong.”
In an interview Thursday before sending the letter, Manchin repeatedly called MTV’s decision “just awful.”
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