John Stamos Reveals Close Call With Scientology: 'Strange Sex Inquiries'

John Stamos has revealed that he was almost recruited to join the Church of Scientology in the 1980s, according to his new memoir.

In If You Would Have Told Me, Stamos, 60, writes that he was headed toward joining the church when, after an acting class, a teacher's assistant gave him a book. "I think it will open your eyes to some amazing things," he recounts her telling him.

While thumbing through the book, the Full House star writes, he saw that the contents included "a lot about control: controlling your reactionary mind, controlling energy, controlling space and controlling time."

A number of celebrities are known to be Scientologists, including Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Elisabeth Moss. Deceased celebrities like Kirstie Alley and Isaac Hayes were also avowed Scientologists, and Alley sometimes spoke publicly about her beliefs.

Other celebrities have walked away from the church, including Laura Prepon, Leah Remini and Paul Haggis. Remini and Haggis have been publicly critical of the church since their departures. Actor Danny Masterson, who was last month sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after he was convicted on two of three rape counts, was recently expelled from the church.

Stamos writes that he went to a meeting at Hollywood's Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International, which he described as "grand, ornate and creepy as f***—a cross between Chateau Marmont, Disney's Haunted Mansion and a mental hospital." Once inside, Stamos said, he took part in an auditing session.

Newsweek has contacted representatives of the Church of Scientology by email for comment on Stamos' account and will update this article if a response is received. The church has previously said that critics such as Remini have a "documented record of malicious lies."

On its website, the church says that auditing takes place "to restore beingness and ability. This is accomplished by (1) helping the individual rid himself of any spiritual disabilities and (2) increasing individual abilities."

Stamos recalls being taken into a "weird little office where a weird little man shows me a weird little machine that has a bunch of knobs, levers and gauges to measure my weird little soul. All I can think about is the Wayback Machine from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show deployed by the genius beagle, Mr. Peabody, and his adopted human boy, Sherman, to time travel through different dimensions."

Stamos says he was told that what faced him was an "important religious artifact" that "monitors the psyche, mind, and spirit."

"I'm handed two round things that look like cans," he writes. "I put one to my ear and the other to my mouth and mimic talking into an old-timey telephone. 'Hello, there.' Mia [the assistant] suppresses her irritation with me, and the weird little man gives her a withering look. He pinches me on the hand. Ouch. I pinch him back."

Stamos continues: "He begins to question me about committing crimes, asks if I have negative thoughts about Scientology or [founder] L. Ron Hubbard, and probes into some strange sex inquiries.

"The Wayback Machine needle jumps up and down erratically. There are hushed whispers in the corner, and Mia looks disappointed. I am whisked out of the room and sent on my merry way. Apparently, I'm not Scientology material. Darn it," he writes.

The church says on its website: "Auditing uses processes—exact sets of questions asked or directions given by an auditor to help a person locate areas of spiritual distress, find out things about themselves and improve their condition.

"There are many, many different auditing processes and each one improves the individual's ability to confront and handle part of their existence. When the specific objective of any one process is attained, the process is ended and another can then be used to address a different part of the person's life," the site says.