Why John Stamos Is To Blame for The Olsen Twins’ Absence

Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen turned down reprising Michelle in Fuller House, but as it turns out, John Stamos is partly to blame for their decision.

John Stamos is partly to blame for Michelle's absence in Fuller House, due to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's decision to pass on the reunion project. In 2016, Netflix released the spin-off sequel to the beloved '80s/'90s family sitcom, Full House. All the primary cast members of the original show came back to reprise their respective roles, but the youngest Tanner sister was nowhere to be found after Fuller House failed to convince the Olsen twins to join the show.

Essentially copying Full House's premise, Fuller House focused on the newly widowed DJ, who's left to raise three young kids of her own. Stephanie and Kimmy moved in with her in the iconic San Francisco house, and together, they make up a non-traditional yet loving family. Kimmy, the Tanners' long-time neighbor, became a lead character in the sequel, effectively taking over Michelle's would-be spot, with the explanation that the youngest sister was now based in New York running a fashion empire. Michelle was a major draw in the original Full House, and not seeing Danny's youngest daughter throughout Fuller House's five-year run was definitely disappointing.

Leading up to Fuller House's release, there were contradicting reports about whether or not the Olsens would partake in the Netflix project. In the end, they didn't — although the show reportedly had tried to convince the Olsen twins to return in Fuller House seasons 2 and 3. The general consensus was that the Olsen twins had long retired from acting and were not interested in returning to the industry for the spin-off show. But as it turns out, they could've been persuaded to join had the creatives behind Fuller House approached them differently.

Why The Olsen Twins Didn't Appear In Fuller House

Because the Olsen twins have stepped away from acting to focus more on fashion design and business, it makes sense that they wouldn't have jumped right into Fuller House, a spin-off series of a show they starred in as children. That said, Mary-Kate in particular was willing to discuss being in Fuller House, with the possibility that Ashley could be as well, but Full House's Olsen twins were never personally approached by any of their old friends or co-stars. Instead, they received what must have felt like a rather sterile offer to join Fuller House through their agent. Unsurprisingly, an impersonal invitation like this wasn't enough to convince the semi-retired Olsen twins to return to acting in Fuller House.

John Stamos Is To Blame For The Olsen Twins Not Appearing In Fuller House

In an interview with THR, John Stamos, who also produced Fuller House, admitted that instead of going through the Olsen twins' agent for official talks, he should've reached out to them personally. Additionally, it would've prevented their public conflict after Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen claimed that they were never asked to do Fuller House. Eventually, Stamos got a hold of Mary-Kate who was considering the possibility of partaking, but she wanted him to also reach out to Ashley as well, who was more hesitant about the idea. Unfortunately, he didn't seize the opportunity and everything fell apart, with Fuller House not casting the Olsen twins at all.

Of course, there's no guarantee that Stamos reaching out to Ashley would've resulted in the Olsen twins' decision to join Fuller House. Even if they did agree, other factors such as scheduling could have prevented them from appearing. That being said, it's reasonable to think that Stamos directly talking to the Olsen twins before Fuller House premiered could have made a big difference. However, if Stamos or anyone from the cast and crew of Fuller House attempted to reach out to Mary-Kate and Ashley again after Fuller House season 1, it would be understandable if the Olsen twins had lost interest. For starters, critics' reviews were mixed, despite Fuller House being an instant hit on Netflix. Additionally, the few meta-jokes about Michelle in Fuller House were, frankly, done in poor taste and might have even been offensive.

The main Full House cast continues to claim that they have nothing but love for Mary-Kate and Ashley, and that they're disappointed that the Olsen twins didn't join Fuller House. But knowing about what really happened behind-the-scenes, at least according to John Stamos, there could've been a way for either one or both of them to be on the sequel. So it's a little bit unfair that Michelle's absence in the show has primarily been blamed on the Olsen twins considering how the situation was handled overall.

More: John Stamos' Fuller House Plan Would've Been A Much Better Full House Spinoff