Inside Pauly D's Relationship With Britney Spears
Of all the strange pairings to come out of the early aughts, "Jersey Shore" star Pauly D and embattled pop star Britney Spears may be the strangest pairing of all. Back in 2011, the MTV reality star and the pop princess went on tour together, along with Nicki Minaj, Jessie and the Toy Boys, and Nervo on Spears' "Femme Fatale" tour. (Quite the lineup she had there.)
At the time, Pauly D told E! News that his beloved tourmate was a fan of his infamous show. "She kind of does her own thing," he said, before referencing "Jersey Shore." "But she definitely watches the show on her tour bus. She's a fan, which is really cool." He also said that he had a lot of fans out there as well, and his fanbase was growing thanks to his tour with Spears.
Let's look at what else we know about this very early-aughts pairing.
Critics argued that Britney Spears 'objectified' Pauly D
Reading stories written at the peak of Britney Spears' popularity, knowing what we know today, can be a bit of a strange trip. To give you an example, in 2015, MTV writer Matthew Scott Donnelly claimed that Spears was "being objectified" by the "Jersey Shore" star ... because she gave him a lap dance onstage.
"The former 'Jersey Shore' cast member, who has a history of being objectified by the pop princess (let's not forget the Great Lap Dance of 2011), stopped by the latest Britney: Piece Of Me show this weekend. And when Ms. Spears found Pauly perched in her audience, she took him on stage, strapped on some leather whosits and whatsits and made him look like a top seed at Circus Maximus. Hope he's insured!" Donnelly wrote at the time.
For the record, Pauly D didn't seem to mind, because he tweeted that his "life was made" when Spears gave him the lap dance.