The Big Bang Theory: 10 Reasons Why Leonard & Raj Aren’t Real Friends
Leonard Hofstadter and Raj Koothrappali are part of a tight-knit group on The Big Bang Theory. But are these scientists only pals out of convenience?
Leonard Hofstadter and Raj Koothrappali are two members of the group that make up The Big Bang Theory. The pair met when they started working at Caltech and quickly became friends with Howard Wolowitz and Sheldon Cooper.
Now, while Leonard and Raj get along for the most part throughout the series’ 12 seasons, there have been enough examples where their friendship has come into question. Are they friends out of convenience or are they friends because their friendship means something to one another? After all, both Leonard and Raj have disrespected each other on more than one occasion whenever it benefited them. If it weren’t for Howard and Caltech, would these two even be friends?
Leonard Ignored Raj’s Feelings And Dated His Sister…
Viewers learned early on that dating siblings in this group was a hard no. We saw this when Sheldon’s twin sister came to visit. But as soon as Raj’s sister Priya came into town, Leonard ignored Raj’s wishes and made the moves on her anyway. (To be fair to Leonard, Priya made the first move.) When Raj found out that Leonard was sleeping with his sister, he was irate. Not one part of him would support this union, no matter how serious it had gotten. If they were true friends, Leonard wouldn’t have disrespected Raj’s demands and maybe Raj would have gotten over his hatred for them being together.
…But Raj Was Happy When Priya Crushed Leonard’s Heart
Friends are typically happy when their friend is going through a breakup but for Raj and Leonard? The circumstances were closer to home.
Raj was elated when Leonard and Priya finally broke up. Things were getting serious between the two but when Leonard kissed another girl and Priya slept with her ex-boyfriend, their relationship became too tarnished to be fixed. While Leonard was heartbroken over his loss, Raj was boasting in his sorrow.
Raj “Slept” With Penny As Soon As He Had The Chance…
Did Raj try sleeping with Penny because he always loved Penny or was it because he was getting back at Leonard for sleeping with his sister? It’s hard to say but both Raj and Penny were drunk and something like this was bound to happen. However, no matter how drunk Raj was or how much of a crush he might have had on Penny in the beginning, he should have realized how many boundaries he was crossing when he jumped into bed with his “friend’s” ex-girlfriend, whom he was on-and-off with for years.
…And Took His Shot With Dr. Plimpton Even Though It Upset Leonard
Either Leonard and Raj are lonelier than we thought or they genuinely do not care about each other’s feelings. It seems like whenever a woman is involved, their friendship goes right out the window. Do they not have any loyalty to one another?
Just how Leonard slept with Raj’s sister and how Raj tried sleeping with Penny, Raj also took his shot at Dr. Plimpton — a woman Leonard slept with the night before. Leonard clearly had a strong attachment to this woman—who was only in town for a few days—but Raj didn’t care. As soon as she made the moves on him, Raj was a lost cause.
Leonard Wouldn’t Go With Raj To His People Magazine Award Ceremony
In the second season, Raj was selected for People Magazine’s “30 under 30” list. To celebrate his achievement, People invited Raj and a plus-one to attend the ceremony. And while Raj wanted the gang to join him, his pompous attitude made his friends want to do anything else. Leonard didn’t care how big of a deal this was to Raj; he decided not to celebrate this honor, leaving Raj to bring Penny instead. Once again, we have Raj stirring the pot between Leonard and Penny, and Leonard not showing up for his friend when it mattered.
Leonard Only Seems To Hang With Raj When He’s Having Girl Troubles
Raj is the one in the group who had the most major girl issues. While Howard and Leonard complained about being lonely, they always managed to find a female suitor eventually. But Raj? His selective mutism prohibited that from happening for far too long. As did his high standards for romance.
So, on the off chance Leonard was having problems with women, he’d ask Raj if he wanted to hang out, which actually infuriated Raj. Why was Leonard only going to him when he was having women’s troubles? Was Leonard ever going to choose to hang out with Raj because he actually liked spending time with him?
Leonard Pushed Raj To Get Sheldon So He Could Sleep With Penny (Even Though Sheldon Fled Because Of Leonard)
After spending three months in the North Pole with Sheldon, Howard, and Raj, Leonard was happy to be back in Pasadena and to see Penny. As soon as he saw her, the two embraced and obviously missed one another. They began making out, leaving the rest of the guys in the hallway. However, after Raj and Howard told Sheldon that they altered his data, Sheldon fled to Texas to hide. Selfishly, Leonard told Raj and Howard to deal with Sheldon’s antics even though it was Leonard’s doing that made him flee. Leonard eventually went to Texas with the guys, but he was not pleased.
Leonard Didn’t Want Raj Moving In With Him And Penny
When Raj was going through financial issues and needed a place to stay, Leonard didn’t extend an invitation even though he had the space, and both of them worked at the same university. It took a few conversations with Penny for Leonard to finally invite his friend to stay with him. And even when Raj did move in, Leonard became jealous of Raj’s BFF relationship with Penny. Could it be that Leonard just doesn’t like Raj?
Bert’s Meteorite
In the final season of Big Bang, Bert needed Raj’s help cutting open a meteorite. Since Raj is an astrophysicist, Bert thinks he’s the man for the job. This upset Leonard because he had a brand new laser that could get the job done easily, yet Bert still wanted Raj’s expertise on the meteorite. Leonard sulked for the entire episode and took his anger and jealousy out on Raj even though it wasn’t Raj’s call to make. Leonard truly believed he could do a better job than Raj, which is a pretty crummy thing for a friend to do.
Raj Ignored Leonard’s Plea To Be Left Alone With Penny
Similar to Sheldon, Raj doesn’t always pick up on when he’s not wanted. He loves love and loves being around people. In “The Love Car Displacement,” everyone hit the road for a convention where they all shared hotel rooms. But after Amy bit Penny, Penny sneaks into Sheldon and Leonard’s room to sleep.
As always, Penny and Leonard began making out when Raj entered the room and couldn’t take the hint that he should leave them alone. Instead, he settled in to spend the night with the couple, watching Bridget Jones’ Diary. He did something similar when he crashed Leonard and Penny’s date night where he tried getting Penny to say “I love you” before she was ready.
