Andrea Barber and Jodie Sweetin agree with fans who think the adults on Full House were verbally “abusive” toward Kimmy Gibbler.
On the most recent episode of their rewatch podcast How Rude, Tanneritos!, the hosts addressed an “unpopular” fan opinion that Bob Saget’s Danny Tanner, John Stamos’ Jesse Katsopolis and Dave Coulier’s Joey Gladstone’s consistent mocking of Barber’s teen character on the show went too far.
Over the course of Full House’s eight-season run on ABC from 1987 to 1995, one of its most consistent running jokes was the adult characters’ irritation with Kimmy, eldest Tanner daughter D.J.’s oddball best friend. Barber’s character usually seemed oblivious of or unbothered by the adults’ insults or cheerfully fired back hilarious barbs of her own.
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But on Tanneritos, Barber noted that as the series went on, Danny, Jesse and Joey got increasingly mean.
The show, she said, “didn’t acknowledge that Kimmy is an actual person with feelings. Like, they brought me up to be this caricature that was immune to insults. It was like, no. She’s obviously a real person.”
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The actress cited a 1993 episode in which Kimmy is hurt when D.J. (Candace Cameron Bure) forgets her 16th birthday. “I love those episodes where Kimmy is like a real person, a human with feelings,” she said.
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“Kimmy was sort of the — she was either the butt of the joke or the one that, you know, said the zinger,” Sweetin, 43, whose own character lobbed her fair share of insult’s Kimmy’s way, said, adding that she would have liked to have seen the character show more depth and for Bure’s character to have supported her more.
“I don’t think D.J. comes to Kimmy’s defense,” Barber, 48, agreed. “Like, ‘Hey, Dad. Like, maybe you shouldn’t say that to Kimmy,’ or ‘Hey, that’s my best friend. Don’t say that about her.’ ”
“I mean, the adults should have talked behind Kimmy’s back,” Barber joked. “That’s what you do when your kid has an annoying friend.”
“That’s the Full House lesson, people,” she added.
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