Was Hillary Clinton shortchanged? The former secretary of state, 70, was paid $7,000 less than Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi to speak at Rutgers University in New Jersey, according to a report published by NJ.com on Thursday, March 29.
Clinton delivered a speech at the research university on Thursday about the current political climate, U.S. democracy and her role in women’s history. The website reported that she received $25,000 for the appearance, which is a fraction of the payout that Rutgers previously gave to its notable speakers.
NJ.com reported that Snooki, 30, walked away with $32,000 when she sat down for a Q&A session at Rutgers in 2011. However, the site noted that undergraduate students paid for the Jersey Shore star’s appearance using money from their mandatory activities fees.
Though the MTV personality — who will return to the network for its upcoming reunion series Jersey Shore: Family Vacation — didn’t cover politics while speaking at the school, she did share some advice with the students: “Study hard, but party harder.”
According to NJ.com, Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison got $30,000 when she spoke at Rutgers in 2011, and former White House press secretary Bill Moyers received $35,000 in 2015.
While Clinton’s recent payout was still pretty large, it paled in comparison to her previous requests. The Washington Post reported in 2015 that the former first lady asked for $275,000 to speak at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Officials at the university reportedly balked at the number and booked Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea Clinton, instead for a much smaller fee of $65,000.
