Despite being one of the most exceedingly family-friendly sitcoms appealing to both parents and kids, Full House could definitely tap into some less-than-savory subject matter behind the scenes, thanks to the ribald sense of humor shared by adult stars Bob Saget, Dave Coulier and John Stamos. But as professional as they tried to keep it on the set, potentially offensive elements would sometimes just pop up out of nowhere, such as — [refers to notes] — the erection of a donkey who displayed more than a passing attraction to Stamos.
Full House fanatics probably remember the Season 8 episode, “You Pet It, You Bought It,” in which Michelle spends hundreds of dollars on a take-home donkey from a petting zoo that ends up making everybody grumpy and miserable, and ol’ Shorty was never heard from again after the episode. (Fans can stream it with an HBO Max subscription or a Hulu subscription.) But that particular beast of burden factored into a more notorious set of memories for the TGIF sitcom’s stars thanks to the animal’s penchant for sporting an erection directly inspired by resident hottie John Stamos.
Speaking for the Full House panel at ‘90s Con in March, cast members Dave Coulier, Jodie Sweetin, Candace Cameron Bure and Andrea Barber were asked about favorite and/or memorable guest stars from the O.G. comedy’s eight-season run. Someone brought up “Pepper Mill,” which was the nickname that Bob Saget gave the donkey for size-comparison purposes, and the former co-stars had to drop some zoological knowledge on the crowd of amused fans.
- Jodie Sweetin: We had...was it a donkey?
- Dave Coulier: In the living room, which most American families have.
- Jodie Sweetin: And let's just say that the donkey also found John Stamos to be highly attractive. He would let us all know whenever John walked into the room, yeah. I'm not kidding! It was, for some reason - maybe it was John's pheromones, I don't know what it was.
I know they can’t speak for how horny all the donkeys in the world get regarding John Stamos, but it appears as if ol’ Shorty/Pepper Mill wanted to show the General Hospital actor that he was, like, a big fan. Though not necessarily a modest one. In fact, Andrea Barber shared that there was a specific response the animal trainer would employ to try and discourage such arousal. In her words and arm motions:
The animal trainer had to come over and tap it with a stick so it wouldn't appear on camera. So she tapped it and...[arm mimes a shrinking erection]
Just when you thought it was safe to think that no animals were harmed or horny AF during the making of the show, we’re all finding out that wasn’t the case at all, at least for one week of filming. John Stamos’ appeal knows no bounds.
But for all that Sweetin, Coulier and Barber were readily joking about it, Candace Cameron Bure admitted she was riding blind where these particular memories were concerned. As she put it:
All you guys remember this. I think I blocked it out.
In some ways, I can totally understand a teenage girl wanting to repress the memory of witnessing an animal getting horny for a co-star. But then in other ways, I’m like, “How can somebody possibly forget that, intentionally or not?” I have to assume no one invited ol' Pepper Mill to Jodie Sweetin's wedding last year.
Bob Saget shared his take on the Pepper Mill saga in his book Dirty Daddy, and also spoke about the animal’s genitals while appearing on Conan back in 2013. Check that video out below.
Speaking of Bob Saget, Dave Coulier told a pretty great story about the late comedian dishing out the best possible "Cut it out" reference, and shared a story about farting on one of the Olsen twins that doesn't involve Saget, but is probably something he thought was funny.
