Farber danced with the “Jersey Shore” star on season 17, eventually placing eighth.

DWTS pro Sasha Farber reveals promise Snooki’s dad asked him to make: ‘He’s going to kill me’

Farber danced with the "Jersey Shore" star on season 17, eventually placing eighth.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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January 19, 2026 6:12 p.m. ET

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'DWTS' pro Sasha Farber and contestant Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzo. Credit:

Adam Taylor/Disney/Getty

Sasha Farber learned the hard way: Don't make promises you can't keep.

The *Dancing With the Stars* pro recently looked back on his first season in the core cast of the popular reality competition series. It was 2013, he'd just been promoted from a member of the troupe to a pro partner, and he'd been paired with *Jersey Shore *star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.

"She was so much fun, and she still is, to this day. We speak all the time, she supports me, I love all her stuff, she's always got my back. She was just so much fun," Farber told *Real Housewives of New Jersey *alum Gia Giudice on Monday's new episode of her *Casual Chaos *podcast, before adding, "I do have a story that is kind of funny."

Sasha Farber and Snooki on 'DWTS'.

Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Farber was quickly initiated into the grueling *Dancing With the Stars *production and rehearsal schedule alongside Snooki, who had given birth to her first child, Lorenzo, the year before and was living with partner Jionni LaValle in New Jersey. But the series filmed in Los Angeles, requiring the dancing duo to fly back and forth constantly.

"We would have to do a show and then fly out that night. And then, because it's all the way in [New Jersey], you would lose a day, you wouldn't sleep on the plane. So we would miss a day of dancing sometimes. And then we would come in and rehearse because she would want to get back to the kids," Farber explained.

At one point, Snooki dedicated herself to two full weeks in California, which meant she was out of range of her protective father, Andy Polizzi.

Snooki reunites with cop who arrested her for being drunk on 'Jersey Shore'

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"Her dad calls me," Farber related. "He's like, 'Make sure you look after her.' I was like, 'I got her. Don't worry.'"

That wasn't so easy.****

"Rehearsal starts, she's a little late. I was like, 'Snooks, where are you?'" Farber recalled. "She's like, 'I'm coming. Sorry I'm a little late.'"

Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi and her father, Andy Polizzi, in New York City in 2013.

Jerritt Clark/WireImage

Farber said he could hear a buzzing in the background of the call, which made him question what exactly was holding the reality star up. Over an hour goes by and Snooki finally showed up with her *Jersey Shore *castmate Jenni "JWoww" Farley.

"She comes in laughing. I was like, 'Babe, where were you?' She's like, 'We got tattoos!' I was like, 'Her dad, he's going to kill me!'"

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.*******Papa Polizzi didn't take any grievous action against Farber, who ended up advancing Snooki to the fifth week of competition. As first timers, they beat out celebrities like Christina Milian and Bill Nye, and pro winners like Mark Ballas and Sharna Burgess.

*Glee* star Amber Riley ultimately won season 17 of *Dancing With the Stars *alongside pro partner Derek Hough, who now sits on the judges' panel.

"I definitely didn’t think I was going to go home yet, and I’m not ready to go home," Snooki shared moments after her elimination, but said that she found the experience "amazing."**

You can listen to Farber's full conversation on the *Casual Chaos *podcast above.

- Dancing with the Stars Fandom

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Dancing”