Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Big Bang Theory creator denies adding more sex scenes for Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki after they broke up

Cuoco and Galecki dated in real life between 2008 and 2010

Tom Murray
Tuesday 04 October 2022 06:19 BST
Comments
Kaley Cuoco left squirming by Big Bang Theory criticism

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre has responded to claims made by his actors that they were made to perform more sex scenes after they broke up in real life.

Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki played main characters Penny and Leonard for 12 years on the long-running sitcom about a geeky American friendship group.

A running theme throughout the show was a will-they-won’t-they romance between Penny and Leonard, which transferred off-screen between 2008 and 2010 when the actors developed a real-life romance.

Since the show ended in 2019, Cuoco and Galecki have both suggested that Lorre “f***ed with” the two of them by increasing the number of intimate scenes they shared after their breakup.

“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,” Cuoco recalled in a 2020 interview.

“Johnny and I talk about it and I think [Chuck] did that on purpose just to f*** with us,” she continued. “Because that came out of nowhere. All of a sudden these characters were all up on each other.”

‘The Big Bang Theory’ stars Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki
‘The Big Bang Theory’ stars Kaley Cuoco and Johnny Galecki (CBS)

During interviews for Jessica Radloff’s new book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story (via Vanity Fair), Lorre denied “f***ing with” the actors.

“No. Not at all. Making a good show has no room for f***ing with anybody,” Lorre said. “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.”

Lorre added: “I think that’s charming that they think we had the mental capacity to mess with them. [Laughs] 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.”

According to the book, once Galecki heard Lorre’s rebuttal, he responded” “I guess that was pretty egotistical of us to think that. [Laughs] 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 is set for release on 11 October.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in