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John Stamos is opening up about his childhood. The Full House actor revealed in his memoir “If You Would Have Told Me,” — out in bookstores and online on Oct. 24 — that he was sexually abused as a child by his babysitter.
Stamos addressed the excerpt during a video posted to the actor's Instagram.
“So it's come to my attention that an excerpt from my book has got some traction today in the press and I want to discuss it a bit,” he said. “For almost 40 years, I have been an advocate and spokesperson for Child Help, which is an organization that passionately works to combat and prevent child abuse.”
“This relationship and my title of spokesperson, I cherish deeply. It's very important to me. Now maybe some of you out there can relate to what happened to me when I was a child. It was an unsettling event with a babysitter.”
“And I didn't know how to react, I didn't know if I should tell anybody. It was weird. And I knew then and I certainly know now that I wasn't supposed to be dealing with those feelings at that young age. So I packed it away and I never talked about it.”
“About five years ago, I was writing out a speech that I was going to make at a Child Help charity and I started writing and all of a sudden it just came back. Just like flooded me with a crystal clear vision of what happened back then and I was like…it was very unsettling. And I thought, ‘Well, should I talk about it in my speech? And then I thought no, the night was about the kids and not me so I packed it away and I thought, ‘Some day will be the right time to talk about this.'”
“And after a lot of reflection, and talking to my family and friends, I thought it was time to talk about it so I put it in my book. And it's only a couple paragraphs but it is significant and it is profound.”
John Stamos' Fans Support The Actor Via Instagram
Fans of the actor flocked to the comment section to offer support and guidance to other parents.
“Thank you for sharing,” one fan commented. “You’re amazing! Don’t forget – not always adults sexually abusing kids. Kids acting out what they’ve experienced on other kids – kids a few years older taking advantage of little ones. Something for parents to keep in mind as well.”
“Thank you John for talking about this sensitive subject because thats what we need to do shed light on child abuse,” a fan account for Full House wrote in support of the actor. “Thus reminds me of the episode of full house where Stephanie begs Uncle Jesse not to say anything about [a] kid named Charles who is abused by his dad! Uncle Jesse said, what will happen to Charles if we don’t report it? If you don’t say anything you’re only helping it happen again. Silence is not Golden!”
RAINN, a national sexual assault hotline, also commented on Stamos' post to spread awareness, “Thank you, John, for your courage in sharing your story. We're here for you and anyone who may need support. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is free, confidential, and available to survivors and their loved ones in both English and Spanish 24/7.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted you can call 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit rainn.org.
If you suspect a child has been sexually abused, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org.
John Stamos' book “If You Would Have Told Me,” will be out on bookstore shelves next week.
Take a look at Stamos' full video below:
View this post on Instagram
