We all know the basic premise behind Full House — dad of three Danny Tanner enlists his best friend and brother-in-law, asking them to move into his house rent-free in exchange for helping him raise his three daughters following the death of his wife. For eight years (and then for decades longer in syndication and on streaming) we came to know and love D.J., Stephanie and Michelle, and the hijinks they got into with their dad, Uncle Joey and Uncle Jesse. Wait, what do you mean that’s not right? Jodie Sweetin just spoke out about a common mistake made regarding the Tanners, and I am in shock.
Jodie Sweetin, who played the middle Tanner child, wanted to set the record straight about Dave Coulier’s Joey Gladstone and his relationship to Stephanie and her sisters. While Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos) was the brother of Danny’s wife, Joey did not hold the same status within the family. On her Full House rewatch podcast How Rude, Tanneritos!, Sweetin staunchly proclaimed of Joey:
He’s not an uncle. I’m gonna debate this fact, because people always say, ‘Oh, what about Uncle Joey?’ And I’m the first to [say], ‘Like, actually, he’s not an uncle.’ And we never called him ‘Uncle Joey.’
What do you mean you never called him “Uncle Joey”?! Of course I understand that he was not related by blood or marriage to Bob Saget’s Danny Tanner, but I’m pretty sure I have always referred to him as an uncle for honorary purposes, because he was definitely part of the family. Didn’t everybody?
A quick search I did through some Full House clips resulted in zero instances of “Uncle Joey,” so consider my mind blown. I don’t know if this is a Mandela Effect situation, but the moniker had to start somewhere, because — according to Jodie Sweetin herself — Mr. Gladstone was indeed promoted to “uncle” status in the Netflix spinoff Fuller House. The podcast host continued:
The younger kids, I think, started calling him ‘Uncle Joey’ [on Fuller House]. Because I remember having this discussion and being like, ‘But he’s not an uncle.’ Maybe it’s one of those, you know, by association he’s become an uncle over time. I’m not saying he can’t be. I’m not saying I am opposed to his membership as an honorary uncle. I’m just saying I don’t think we ever called him ‘Uncle Joey.’
Jodie Sweetin said she didn’t argue with Joey being deserving of the title — although she sounds pretty quick to correct people — but she’ll definitely be keeping her ear out for it, as she and Andrea Barber (aka Kimmie Gibler) embark on their 192-episode rewatch of the classic sitcom. She said she’ll feel “vindicated” if she turns out to be correct.
Speaking of Dave Coulier, he launched his own podcast days ahead of his TV non-niece; however, after just the first episode he announced Full House Rewatch will be on hiatus until the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike. How Rude, Tanneritos! has not taken similar action — as of this writing at least — so you can continue to enjoy that podcast, while also snooping for “Uncle Joey” references by streaming Full House with your Max subscription or Hulu subscription.
