John Stamos Speaks Out After Revealing Past Sexual Abuse from Childhood Babysitter
Stamos discusses the event in his new book 'If You Would Have Told Me,' out Oct. 24
Frazer Harrison/Getty
John Stamos is continuing to speak out about a difficult moment in his childhood.
In his book, If You Would Have Told Me, out Oct. 24, the Full House actor, 60, revealed that he was a survivor of sexual abuse, saying that the incident allegedly occurred with his childhood babysitter.
Earlier this week, Stamos spoke exclusively with PEOPLE, sharing that "it took me writing a book" to realize his babysitter's alleged actions were inappropriate. "I mean, I knew, it was always in the back, and I do so much advocacy for the [survivors]," he said. "I felt like, I remembered it slightly. It has always been there, but I packed it away as people do, right?"
On Thursday, Stamos posted a video to his Instagram publicly commenting on the story, saying that he wanted to "discuss" some of the details.
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"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."
Stamos, who welcomed son Billy, now 5, in April 2018 with wife Caitlin McHugh Stamos, added that if anything, he's glad he shared his story so that others could feel supported.
"I've had three friends text me today. Three. Saying that they had a similar situation that happened to them and never told anybody. So if sharing my story has helped even those three friends of mine, then I'm glad I did it. Please know that it is never your fault and you deserve to be heard and you deserve to be supported."
Speaking with PEOPLE, the Big Shot actor expressed how important it was to be candid about all aspects of his life, both the highs and the lows, in his debut memoir.
"I did set out to write a hero story, but then as I was doing it I was like, 'No, I'm going to tell a human story,'" he said. "Because with the hero story, that's bulls---. And unless I was a hundred percent forthcoming, what am I doing this for, right? But it was hard."
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
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