Jodie Sweetin says Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s absence from Fuller House should not be treated as proof of a feud.
The actress, who played Stephanie Tanner on Full House and its Netflix revival, spoke about the twins during an appearance on Taboo’s Comics and Kicks podcast.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Sweetin said “everyone’s on good terms” with Mary-Kate and Ashley, even though the sisters chose not to return as Michelle Tanner.
Sweetin said the twins have a different relationship to the show because they were only 8 years old when Full House ended in 1995. She also said acting was not what they loved, especially after spending nearly their entire childhood in front of cameras.
Sweetin Said the Cast Is Still on Good Terms With the Olsens
Sweetin pushed back on the idea that the Olsens’ absence from Fuller House meant there was bad blood behind the scenes.
“I always say this to people [who are] like, ‘Oh my god, did they hate it?’ Like, no, everyone’s on good terms with them, but they were 8 years old when this show stopped,” Sweetin said, according to PEOPLE.
She said Mary-Kate and Ashley went on to make many movies after Full House, but she was not sure they loved doing that work all the time. “You know, this isn’t what they love,” Sweetin said.
Sweetin also described why the experience may have felt different for the twins than it did for some of their castmates. “They have a different relationship to being on set all the time,” she said. “They might not remember being two years old and having, you know, us all carrying them around and doing this stuff, but I do.”
Mary-Kate and Ashley Were Infants When Full House Started
Mary-Kate and Ashley shared the role of Michelle Tanner beginning when they were 9 months old. They played the youngest Tanner daughter for all eight seasons of Full House, which aired on ABC from 1987 to 1995.
After the sitcom ended, the sisters became major child stars through films including It Takes Two, Double, Double, Toil and Trouble, To Grandmother’s House We Go and How the West Was Fun.
Their professional path eventually moved away from acting. PEOPLE reported that the twins founded their luxury fashion label, The Row, in 2005. Mary-Kate currently serves as creative director, while Ashley serves as CEO.
Sweetin said she understands why the sisters stepped away from public attention. “Their empire blew up and they don’t want attention, and I get it,” she said. “They had so much and were so invaded and for public consumption.”
Fuller House Addressed Michelle’s Absence in the First Episode
When Fuller House premiered on Netflix in 2016, much of the original cast returned, including Sweetin, Candace Cameron Bure, Andrea Barber, John Stamos, Bob Saget, Dave Coulier and Lori Loughlin. Mary-Kate and Ashley did not reprise Michelle.
The revival addressed the absence with a joke in its first episode. Sweetin recalled that the characters were gathered in the kitchen when someone mentioned that Michelle was in New York running a fashion empire.
“And then every we all just kind of looked to the camera like, ‘Uh-huh,’” Sweetin said, according to PEOPLE.
Sweetin said the cast knew the show had to acknowledge Michelle somehow. “You have to address it,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “You can’t just not say anything.”
She said the joke was not meant as a dig at the twins. The cast respected their decision not to return, but still wanted to nod to the character’s absence in a way that fit the revival’s tone.
Bob Saget’s Death Brought the Cast Back Together
Sweetin also said the wider Full House cast reconnected after Bob Saget died in January 2022. Saget played Danny Tanner, the widowed father of D.J., Stephanie and Michelle, throughout the original series and returned for Fuller House.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Sweetin previously said the cast had not stayed as close to the Olsens over the years because their lives moved in different directions. She said the sisters moved to New York, got married and built their fashion business, while other cast members remained more connected to acting and the Full House world.
Sweetin said the entire cast reunited and spent several days together after Saget’s passing.
“And it was just like it was before,” Sweetin recalled. “It was normal. We all, you know, spent like four days just constantly together… and it was like nothing had changed.”