Summary

• Despite being considered part of the Tanner family, actor Dave Coulier's character Joey Gladstone was never officially referred to as "Uncle Joey" in Full House.
• The Mandela effect refers to false memories shared by a large group of people, and the misconception that Joey was called "Uncle Joey" is an example of this phenomenon.
• While Joey wasn't a blood relative to the Tanners, he played an important role in the family and was referred to as "Uncle Joey" by Jesse when talking to his twin sons.

For all eight seasons of misspelling of “Berenstein” Bears. Joey appeared on both Full House and its sequel show Fuller House and has been mised for years as “Uncle Joey” despite evidence of the contrary.

Full House and Fuller House stars Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie Tanner) and Andrea Barber (Kimmy Gibbler) recently began a podcast based around rewatching episodes of the original hit series where Sweetin also clarified the “Uncle Joey” Mandela effect. Full House told the story of a single father of three young girls living with two other men who helped him to help raise them, making for an odd but loving family. Those two men were Uncle Jesse (John Stamos) and Joey, but while Jesse was a legitimate uncle to the Tanner girls and was referred to as such, Joey was not.

Why Everyone Thinks Full House's Joey Was "Uncle Joey"

Full House was structured around the Tanner family, so it was easy for audience to assume that Joey was an official part of that, which would make him “Uncle Joey.” Father Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) was the head of the household, with Jesse and Joey serving as his right-hand men. Joey and Jesse were often seen getting into hijinks with each other and were equally involved in the raising of the girls, so it’s natural that viewers would believe Joey was actually an uncle to them. However, he was not a blood relative to the Tanners but Danny’s best childhood friend.

Full House killed off Pam, Danny’s wife, before the show even began. Her tragic death at the hands of a drunk driver was the impetus for the story and led to Joey and Jesse moving in to help Danny out. Joey moved in to help his childhood best friend raise his daughters, while Jesse moved in to help raise his nieces, as he was the younger brother of Pam. Regardless of the lack of blood relation, Danny and Joey are as close as brothers, and he played an important role in the Tanner family, even if the girls never called him “Uncle Joey.”

Joey Actually IS Called "Uncle Joey" In Full House

To add to the Full House “Uncle Joey” Mandela effect, he was called by this title in the show, just not by the girls. It is common for people to view close family friends as true family , referring to each other by titles like brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, etc. Thus, it’s not surprising that Jesse did call his best friend “Uncle Joey” when talking to his twin sons. Joey may not have been “Uncle Joey” to the Tanner girls, but Jesse made sure he was “Uncle Joey” to the Katsopolis boys as a sign of respect for his brother from another mother, with Danny also becoming “Uncle Danny.”