Why The Situation Skipped the VMAs

USMagazine, Sunday, August 28, 2011, 5:56pm (PDT)

The Situation was most definitely not in the house at Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards.

When the cast of Jersey Shore hit the black carpet at L.A.'s Nokia Theater, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino was noticeably absent alongside castmates Pauly D, Snooki, Sammi Sweetheart, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi Giancola, Vinny Guadagnino and Deena Nicole Cortes.

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So where was he? Blame it on Irene! A source tells Us Weekly the 29-year-old's absence was related to the hurricane that swept the East Coast over the weekend.

Sans Sorrentino, the rest of the cast boarded a private jet Saturday morning in Teterboro, NJ -- just in time to avoid getting grounded by the very-serious Hurricane Irene.

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"We had to get out here for the VMAs," Vinny later told MTV News hours after arriving in L.A. "MTV did whatever they could to get us out here. We wouldn't miss it for the world."

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Their missing pal Tweeted apologetically: "I wish I could be at the VMA's but all flights were grounded because of the Hurricane...thanks again for always having my back! For all the Haters who are mad by what really happened, keep Hating!"

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