The creator of The Big Bang Theory has denied that he stuck a load of extra sex scenes into the show after two of the stars broke up in real life.
Chuck Lorre, who you might also remember as the creator of Charlie Sheen vehicle Two and a Half Men, says that he’s seen accusations from two of the show’s extremely well-paid stars that he attempted to ‘f*** with them’ after they split up in the real world by adding in loads of intimate scenes for their characters.
Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki played Penny and Leonard respectively for 12 years of the sitcom, about a set of nerdy friends trying to navigate their way through the world of relationships.
While Penny and Leonard enjoyed a fraught on-off relationship that was central to the plot of the show for many years, the pair eventually found themselves in a real-life relationship.
Advert
However, that then came to an end after two years between 2008 and 2010.
Since the show finished a few years back, the stars have both been on the record stating that they thought Lorre was having a bit of a laugh at their expense by engineering opportunities for on-screen shenanigans between the two.
Cuoco in particular said Lorre ‘f***ed with’ the pair after they parted ways in their actual relationship.
In an interview back in 2020 she said: “When we broke up obviously it was a little sensitive for a minute, but I remember those weeks that Chuck had written these episodes where all of a sudden our characters were like sleeping together every other second,
Advert
“Johnny and I talk about it and I think [Chuck] did that on purpose just to f*** with us. Because that came out of nowhere.
“All of a sudden these characters were all up on each other.”
However, in a new book that opens the lid on the behind-the-scenes world of the show entitled The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story, Lorre denied that he ever dreamt of such a thing.
He said: “No. Not at all. Making a good show has no room for f***ing with anybody,
Advert
“There’s no, ‘Let’s mess with Kaley and Johnny’. The goal was to make a great show and make every minute of every episode count. And that was the only goal.
“We don’t have that kind of freedom to risk a TV series that you put your heart and soul into to mess with somebody’s head. No.”
He continued: “I think that’s charming that they think we had the mental capacity to mess with them.
“Penny and Leonard having difficulty sustaining a relationship was one of the reasons to keep watching – to see if they could make it.
“You were rooting for them to find happiness.”
Advert
That seems to be enough for Galecki, at least. Upon hearing about Lorre’s side of events, he is quoted in the book as having said: “I guess that was pretty egotistical of us to think that. We were reading into things a little too much.
“I’m going to sleep a little easier tonight.”
The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story will be out on October 11.
Topics: Big Bang Theory, TV and Film, Kaley Cuoco, Celebrity
Tom Wood