There’s a lot that has been written about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s time on Full House, which feels a bit wild given the series ended when the two girls were like eight, and they didn’t return for the Fuller House spinoff decades later. However, they remained in the public eye for a series of popular movies for several years after that, and later went on to be fashion icons and businesswomen with The Row (and the now-defunct Elizabeth & James). So, there’s still a fascination with them as socialites despite their trajectory in Hollywood, and also I think because they became so famous so young.
Which is where the food piece comes in. For years, there have been rumors Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were motivated by food, and during a recent episode of “Pod Meets World” former Boy Meets World star Will Friedle seemingly confirmed the story. He noted he only spent a short amount of time with the girls on set, and they were very young at the time, but the whole thing was, as he put it, “weird.”
The woman, their handler, had two Dixie cups taped together with M&Ms in them. And whenever they would like, their gaze would go somewhere else, she’d go and shake the thing, and they would snap back to it; it was weird.
Rider Strong also confirmed he’d heard a similar “trained with food” story, and that he heard that’s why so many Full House shots of the girls are singles. They were simply looking over and waiting to “get a cookie” or other snack if they fulfilled their duties on the show.
Article continues belowThis isn’t the first time the food thing has come up, either, leading more credence to Friedle's behind-the-scenes story.
Jodie Sweetin Admitted Both Girls Were Motivated By Food, But Ashley Was More Easy-Going
The other day, I was listening to a podcast where Jodie Sweetin was talking with Andrea Barber about the Olsen sisters when they all worked together on Full House. There had been rumors running around for years that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were incentivized with food on set, and Sweetin sort of alluded to it in an episode of “How Rude, Tanneritos.”
We’d previously covered when a fan asked, “Was there ever a point where the directors would favor working with one twin over the other?” The answer was Ashley was more into it, and was more easy-going when it came to working scenes. However, Sweetin went on to note they would really only fight when it came to scenes where there would be sweet treats doled out, and they both wanted the snacks.
There would be certain scenes that one would do and the other wouldn’t. Remember Adria said she had to divide up the sweets-eating scenes because that was the only thing that they were like, ‘This isn’t fair. She got more cake and I didn’t.’ So, you had to balance that out.
It’s tough out there to be child actors, and Will Friedle and Rider Strong have also previously touched on this. Regardless, the girls’ agent, Michael Pagnotta, has said they had complete autonomy over where their careers went as they got older, noting it was the Olsens decision when they bailed “on all the entertainment stuff.” Ultimately, at the end of the day, they are in a place now with their lives and careers where they can do what they want, but the public fascination has not subsided, and it may be a long time before it will.
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