It seems everywhere you look, John Stamos is once again commenting on what happened between himself and twins Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen.
Most recently, it’s been while the 60-year-old General Hospital alum has been on the promotional trail for his memoir If You Would Have Told Me, where he recently revealed what the now 37-year-old twins told their former Full House castmates at Bob Saget‘s funeral in January 2022.
In the memoir, meanwhile, Stamos opened up about his frustrations with the twins over the years. Here’s what we know about Stamos and the Olsen twins’ colourful and complicated relationship – and why a three-word message from Stamos prompted rift rumours.
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John Stamos got the Olsen twins fired from the original Full House
The year was 1987, and Full House was in its first season. Stamos, then aged around 24, was cast as Jesse Katsopolis – also known as Uncle Jesse – and Mary-Kate and Ashley, meanwhile, were cast as his niece Michelle Tanner. They were six months old at the time.
Stamos admitted he found himself displeased with the former child stars’ non-stop crying, and had them fired from Full House as a result.
”It’s sort of true that the Olsen twins cried a lot,” Stamos said in 2015, per People.
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“It was very difficult to get the shot. So I [said], ‘Get them out!’ That is actually 100 per cent accurate,” he continued.
“They brought in a couple of unattractive redheaded kids. We tried that for a while and that didn’t work. [Producers] were like, all right, get the Olsen twins back. And that’s the story.”
Did Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen know about the Full House reboot? The jury is still out
After eight seasons, Full House had officially had its day. Until 2015, when Stamos announced in April on Jimmy Kimmel Live! it was being given a second lease on life.
Days later, however, Mary-Kate told Women’s Wear Daily that she and Ashley had found out about the spinoff Fuller House – which Stamos was slated to produce as well as star in – when Stamos announced it on the late-night talk show.
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“I guess we’re going to talk to the creators and see what’s happening,” she told the outlet.
“I ran into Bob [Saget] the other day and we didn’t even talk about it,” Ashley added, saying she planned to call Saget to “get his perspective”.
Five days later, Stamos tweeted, “I call bulls–t”, prompting rumours of a rift. The next day, however, Stamos said he and Mary-Kate had a “sweet talk” following his tweet.
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One month later, however, it was confirmed neither Mary-Kate nor Ashley would be returning as Michelle Tanner in a statement released by executive producer Robert L. Boyett.
“Although Ashley and Mary-Kate will not be a part of Fuller House, I know how much Full House has meant to them and they are still very much considered family,” Boyett said in May 2015, per Variety.
“It has been exciting to see how they have built their professional careers, and I support their choice to focus on their fashion brands and various business endeavours. I appreciate their support and good wishes towards Fuller House.”
Stamos tweeted one day after Boyett’s statement saying he was “heartbroken”.
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Flash forward to September 2015, when Stamos refuted the twins’ claims they didn’t know about the reboot until it was announced.
“Everybody knew about it; everybody was asked,” he said in an interview.
“I made sure it became a favoured-nations thing, so we all make the same amount. Obviously, the twins have a different thing. We’re doing 13 episodes, so if they want to change their minds, we’d love to have them… but we only need one!”
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Days later, he told USA Today that the Olsen twins were “fully welcome, anytime” on set.
”I love them… I understood why they didn’t want to come back,” he said. “They have big lives, they haven’t acted in a while. But I love them dearly and they’re always welcome on our show.”
How Bob Saget’s death united the Full House cast
Fuller House aired on Netflix from 2016 to 2020, and in January 2022, Saget died aged 65.
In Stamos’ memoir, he wrote about how Saget was the glue keeping the Full House cast together – and that fact remained after his death.
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”There was a bit of a distance between us,” Stamos writes in If You Would Have Told Me of his relationship with the Olsen twins.
“[Saget] was always connected with them, and I was, too. I know it may look like I was upset that they didn’t do Fuller House and stuff, but when [Saget] died and they came back, oh my God it was just so beautiful.
“They said things to us that meant so much to all of us,” he continued.
“That they loved their childhood, that we were such a big part of their lives and they are who they are because of their upbringing on the show.”
While promoting his memoir in October 2023, Stamos further opened up about the sweet moment he and the Olsen twins shared at Saget’s funeral.
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”They came to [Saget’s] funeral, and it was so beautiful,” Stamos told Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show.
He noted Mary-Kate and Ashley didn’t speak at Saget’s funeral, but afterwards, they “got [the Full House cast] together” and told them: “We love you. We loved our childhood. We’re grateful for you guys, we thank you for making those eight years so beautiful for us. We have such fond memories.”
Stamos concluded: “And everyone just needed to hear that.”