Can Anyone Explain This to Me?

Tuesday, April 5, 2011.......


Last week I heard on the news that Snooki from the reality show, Jersey Shore, was paid $25,000 to speak at Rutgers University on partying and tanning. What's more astonishing is that Nobel-Prize winner, Tonie Morrison, is getting less for making the commencement speech.

Initially I laughed, but then I started thinking, how much does it cost to have a celebrity speak at an engagement, so I did a little research. For under 10K I can hire the following:

Reality TV Personality - Jillian Harris
Model - Kim Alexis
Actress - Mackenzie Phillips
Music - Beatlemania

Granted there are a slew of other speakers within this price range, but I didn't have a clue who they were. So, I did a little more digging....

Lance Armstrong gets over $50,000, Jay Leno and Donald Trump over $100,000, but did I expect to pay anything less?

What I was surprised about, assuming info on the Internet is accurate, I was pleasantly surprised that Jacques Pepin's fee is under $20,000. I adore Jacques Pepin. My dream job would to be his assistant....wait, I'm getting sidetracked.

Point of my findings is that Snooki, gets $32,000? Am I missing something?