John Stamos revealed in an interview that he was sexually abused as a child by one of his babysitters.
The “Full House” actor, 60, said he was a victim of sexual abuse in an interview published Wednesday by People.
Stamos discussed the issue, which is from an excerpt in his upcoming memoir, “If You Would Have Told Me.” The book is scheduled to be released on Oct. 24.
The actor and musician, who portrayed Jesse Katsopolis on 193 episodes of “Full House” from 1987 to 1995, said it “took me writing a book” to realize that the babysitter’s actions were inappropriate.
“I mean, I knew, it was always in the back, and I do so much advocacy for the (survivors),” Stamos told People. “I felt like, I remembered it slightly. It has always been there, but I packed it away as people do, right?”
Stamos said that he was 10 or 11 years old when the abuse occurred, CNN reported. He said that at the time, he stayed quiet about it.
“I think I told myself, like, ‘Ah, it’s girls, man,’” Stamos told People. “It was like you’re playing dead so they’ll stop. But it wasn’t totally aggressive.
“I don’t know, it was not good.”
Stamos is an advocate for the protection of children against abuse and has been an ambassador for ChildHelp for more than 20 years, according to CNN. According to its website, ChildHelp exists to “meet the physical, emotional, educational and spiritual needs of abused, neglected and at-risk children.”
Stamos has a 5-year-old son, Billy, who was born in April 2018. He shares him with his wife, Caitlin McHugh, according to People.
He said he was protective of his son but would not hesitate to act if the boy was victimized.
“But I’ll tell you, if I found out someone was doing that to my son, that’s a totally different story,” Stamos told the magazine.