Certain songs and their meanings are the stuff of legend, and you could point to Alanis Morissette’s scathing debut hit, ‘You Oughta Know,’ as one of them. The lyrics detail her heartbreak about a breakup, and it eventually became public knowledge that the subject of this song was none other than Dave Coulier, who played the lovably dumb Uncle Joey on Full House and Fuller House. How could Uncle Joey do such a thing? Hurting Alanis Morissette all the way to pop hit and pop culture significance. The song helped her debut album Jagged Little Pill sell 10-million+ copies, and now Coulier is talking about when he first realized the song was actually about him.
During a chat with SiriusXM Faction Talk’s Jim Norton & Sam Roberts Show, Coulier says he was driving in Detroit when he first heard the song on the radio. He says he dug the song until he had a “Hey, wait a minute” moment after recognizing the singer’s voice. He says he thought, “Ooh, oh no! I can’t be this guy!” From there, he said he raced to a record store, bought the album, sat in his car, and listened to it.
“There was a lot of familiar stuff in there that her and I had talked about. Like [in ‘Right Through you’] ‘your shake is like a fish.’ I’d go, ‘Hey, dead fish me,’ and we’d do this dead fish handshake. And so I started listening to it and I thought, ‘Ooh, I think I may have really hurt this woman.’ And that was my first thought.”
Coulier and Morissette dated for two years back in 1992 when she was 18, and he was 33. Jagged Little Pill came out a year after they parted ways and turned Morissette into an instant music star. The album was nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning five, including Album of the Year. Morissette was 21 at the time of the win, which made her the youngest person to win the award up to that point.
In the spirit of Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain,’ Morissette has never really said that the song is about Coulier. Back in 2008, during an interview with the Vancouver Sun, the singer said, “Well, I’ve never talked about who my songs were about and I won’t, because when I write them they’re written for the sake of personal expression. So with all due respect to whoever may see themselves in my songs, and it happens all the time, I never really comment on it because I write these songs for myself, not other people.” That being said, Coulier believes it is about him due to certain lyrics pointing to aspects of their past relationship. During a 1997 interview with the Boston Herald he “admitted the lines are very close to home. Especially the one about ‘an older version of me’ and bugging him [Coulier] ‘in the middle of dinner.'” His Full House co-star, the late Bob Saget, also claimed to be with Coulier during that dinner when Alanis called. I guess we have to pick who we really believe in this scenario.
Do YOU think ‘You Oughta Know’ is about Dave Coulier?
Latest Pop News
Pop Culture
Freddie Prinze Jr. close to launching wrestling promotion
Freddie Prinze Jr. is closer than ever to launching his first wrestling promotion, which he says is somewhere in between WWE and AEW.
Pop Culture
Target greatly reducing physical media on shelves next year
In yet another blow to physical media, Target has announced that they will limit how much of it is sold in stores.
Pop Culture
Giancarlo Esposito considered arranging his own murder before he got Breaking Bad role
Giancarlo Esposito was so broke before he got the job on Breaking Bad that he considered arranging his own murder for the insurance money.
Pop Culture
Brian Cox calls Joaquin Phoenix’s Napoleon performance “terrible” and “wacky”
Brian Cox has come after Joaquin Phoenix and his Napoleon performance, calling it “terrible” and saying he could do better.
Pop Culture
Courtney Love rips holes in Taylor Swift, Madonna, more
Courtney Love has gone after Taylor Swift, Madonna, Beyonce, and Lana Del Rey…Can you believe she has to live through this?!
Pop Culture
Mini Scrubs pizza party resurrects hope for full-blown reunion
A small selection of the cast of Scrubs reunited for a pizza party, prompting many to again hope for a reunion.
Pop Culture
Paul Schrader suggests his feud with Brian De Palma is out of his hands
Paul Schrader and Brian De Palma had a falling out nearly 50 years ago when making Obsession and it may never be patched up.
Pop Culture
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sentenced to 18 months in prison for Halyna Hutchins’ death
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierraz-Reed will spend 18 months in jail for her part in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Pop Culture
Rust prosecutors say Alec Baldwin had “no control” of emotions
The prosecution team has pointed towards erratic and rushed behavior on the set of Rust from Alec Baldwin in their case.
Pop Culture
Good guy Tom Cruise still sends War of the Worlds co-star Dakota Fanning b-day gifts
Tom Cruise has been sending his War of the Worlds co-star Dakota Fanning birthday presents for the past 20 years.
Load more articles