John Stamos Jokes About the Olsen Twins' 'Fuller House' Absence: 'It Was Just Like a Family Reunion – Where Some of the Family Members Didn't Show Up'

"It was just like a family reunion where some of the family members didn't show up," John Stamos jokes to Jimmy Fallon

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John Stamos is finally explaining why Fuller House isn’t 100 percent full.

During his press tour Monday, the actor discussed the much-buzzed about back-and-forth over whether Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen would reprise their shared role of Michelle Tanner in the upcoming reboot of the popular ’90s show and why, ultimately, they didn’t end up getting involved.

“I think there was some confusion ’cause I feel like – they said first that I didn’t ask them, and I personally didn’t, but I was told that they were asked. So then I had a knee-jerk reaction, I said: ‘Bulls—, I did ask them,’ and they got upset, I think,” Stamos said on Howard Stern‘s SiriusXM radio show. “So I did call, I talked to Mary-Kate and I explained kind of what the show was going to be, and told them I would love them to be on there and they decided not to, which I respect.”

Stamos maintained that the twins “were very, very sweet,” and though “they seemed very into it, they just were afraid of acting” again.

“They hadn’t acted, they don’t consider themselves actresses, I don’t think so,” he added.

Stamos also talked about the twins on Andy Cohen‘s SiriusXM radio show.

“It was funny, I was talking to Lori [Loughlin] about it, I was like, ‘How could they not do this?’ You know, it made a lot for them, their family, their sister,” Stamos said. “And she said, ‘You know, they just won a CFDA Award … and they’re in a different place.’ ”

In fact, Stamos revealed they had even tried to get Mary-Kate and Ashley’s younger sister Elizabeth Olsen to take on the role, but to no avail.

“I said, ‘Call the sister [Elizabeth]’. And we talked to her agent and her agent was like, ‘Come on, she’s not going to do that,’ ” Stamos said. “But we did call her agent.”

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While Stamos maintained there wasn’t any ill will between him and the twins throughout his interviews, he did joke about their absence during his appearance on Monday night’s episode of The Tonight Show.

“It was so fun. It was just like a family reunion – where some of the family members didn’t show up,” Stamos told Jimmy Fallon with a smile.

Fuller House will stream on Netflix Feb. 26.