"Office" producers pulled a John Stamos gay joke from a recent promo because they were afraid ... afraid of John Stamos -- this according to John Stamos.

Stamos was out in L.A. yesterday -- and he told us, "They thought that I'd be offended by the gay joke. But apparently, a week before, they didn't see me kiss a man at the GLAAD Awards." (video below)


The joke aired in a recent promo for "The Office" -- in which Andy tries to dump his girlfriend by lying about being gay, claiming, "I'm gay ... I had to fake it. I had to imagine that I was in a steam room with John Stamos." But producers quickly edited it out, and released a new promo instead.

Now we know why.

John Stamos had nothing to do with NBC editing out a gay joke using his name in a promo for "The Office" -- in fact, Stamos says he's ready to take a steam with Ed Helms any time he wants!

As TMZ first reported, NBC aired a promo for the once-funny show in which Andy (Ed Helms) attempts to convince his girlfriend he's actually gay, saying, "I had to imagine that I was in a steam room with John Stamos."

The promo was re-cut, removing Stamos' name. The joke remained in the actual show.

When we caught up with Stamos yesterday in Hollywood, he said he had no problem with the joke or the promo and actually found it quite funny.

Come to think of it ... has John Stamos ever been mad about anything ... ever?

John Stamos takes steam room showers with gay men -- at least that's the joke that's been running in a recent promo for "The Office" ... a joke that has since been awkwardly edited out.

The original promo aired on NBC for several days beginning last Thursday -- advertising an upcoming episode of the "The Office," in which Andy (Ed Helms) attempts to dump his girlfriend by lying about being gay. In the promo, Andy says, "I'm gay ... I had to fake it. I had to imagine that I was in a steam room with John Stamos."

But this morning, viewers began to notice ANOTHER version of the same promo -- in which the words "John Stamos" have been clumsily edited out.

Now -- instead of Andy saying "I had to imagine that I was in a steam room with John Stamos" -- he says, "I had to imagine that I was in a steam room with ..." and it cuts to a voice over saying, "cool guys."

It begs the question -- why is "The Office" backing off the John Stamos gay joke?

We reached out to Stamos' people -- so far, no word back. A rep for NBC had no comment.

Brace yourself ... John Stamos isn't perfect after all! He has one freaky deformity under his tailored suit, and isn't afraid to admit it. But even so -- you know you still wanna be him ... or do him.

John Stamos wasn't even born when the Beach Boys first got together ... but the actor tells TMZ ... he's been invited to play with the band on their upcoming 50th Anniversary Reunion tour.

Seems he was celebrating last night ... 'cause a boozy Stamos (but not boozy in a bad way) was hangin' at the Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd. when he revealed, "[The Beach Boys] asked me to be a part of the show ... I feel very honored."

The former "Full House" star performed with the band on a pretty regular basis during the '90s ... and participated in a few gigs in the past couple of years.

The band is reportedly set to kick things off at the Grammys next month ... followed by a 50-date tour.

So, how do good things keep happening to Stamos? Jesus loves the guy ... seriously, watch the clip.

Rebecca Romijn's killer bikini body proves even the God-gifted, perfectly sculpted John Stamos' life can take a wrong turn every now and then. We feel your pain, John.

Check out TMZ on TV -- click here to see your local listings!

Ageless TV hunks Rob Lowe, 47, and John Stamos, 48, seem to get better and better looking with each passing day.

Question is ...

It's gonna be a Full House at Charlie Harper's funeral service on "Two and a Half Men" ... because one of the stars in attendance will be none other than Uncle Jesse himself ... John Stamos!

Sources connected to the production tell TMZ ... Stamos -- who was once rumored to be Charlie Sheen's replacement on the show -- will say a couple of words at the service ... raunchy words.

We're told Stamos' character will reveal he and Harper were CLOSE friends ... the kind of friends who once three-way'd a chick together.

Sources tell us Jenny McCarthy will also be at the funeral -- she famously played one of Harper's ex-girlfriends who broke up with Charlie after she got tired of having sex with him.

Melanie Lynskey will also return as "Rose" -- who was last seen going to Paris with Harper in the very last episode featuring Charlie Sheen.

John Stamos skillfully deflected our questions yesterday in NY when we asked about rumors he might be replacing Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men" -- but there's just something about his answers that makes us wonder ... is Stamos hiding something?


UPDATE: Charlie Sheen was fired by Warner Bros.

Charlie Sheen thinks the rumor about John Stamos replacing him on "Two and a Half Men" is a "tragic joke."



Charlie tells TMZ, "If they do that then they deserve their failures and the follies."

But Charlie is getting all hot and bothered for nothing.  People directly connected with the show tell TMZ ... the off-handed comment about Stamos replacing Sheen was a joke.

We're also told there is NO plan -- at least not now -- to replace Charlie.

John Stamos is no stranger to playing with the Beach Boys and once again jumped on stage with some former members, who now perform as Papa Doo Run Run, at Disneyland on Wednesday.



The ageless former "Full House" star -- who is producing a movie musical about the Beach Boys -- played guitar, drums, bongos and sang with the band.

Eat your heart out, Jesse and the Rippers.