Summary

• Penny and Raj seemingly slept together in a cliffhanger that had fans unsure for an entire offseason.
• Raj technically had more partners than Penny throughout the series, despite Penny being portrayed as promiscuous. This undermines the joke about Penny's promiscuity and suggests a double standard.
• The Penny and Raj sleeping together storyline was widely disliked by fans and even the show's creators. It was seen as a betrayal of Penny's feelings for Leonard and could have ruined both characters if it had continued.

Years after the show ended, there are still fans wondering if Penny slept with Raj in The Big Bang Theory season 4. From the first episode of The Big Bang Theory, it was clear that the sitcom was positioning Leonard (Johnny Galecki) to be Penny's (Kaley Cuoco) love interest, but that doesn't mean that they didn't see other people. Over the years, both have dated separately while in the flux of their own relationship. Penny had gone out with a string of other men including Stuart (Kevin Sussman), but her weirdest affair, arguably, was with Raj (Kunal Nayyar).

Following Penny and Leonard's first big break-up, Leonard dated Priya while Penny stayed single. While there was palpable tension between the women, they didn't speak of it, causing Leonard to spend less time with his friends and more with his girlfriend. In The Big Bang Theory season 4 finale titled "The Roommate Transmogrification," Raj temporarily moved into Apartment 4A as his sister and her boyfriend took over his place. This leads to the shocking final moments of the episode when it shows Penny and Raj naked in bed together.

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Raj And Penny Didn't Sleep Together

The Cliffhanger Was Explained Away With A Joke

The idea was that Penny and Raj slept together, although the show ended the season with that cliffhanger, waiting until season 5 to provide answers. This left fans wondering whether something happened between the pair, but even when The Big Bang Theory picked up the year after, it didn't reveal what happened right away. In fact, Sheldon and Leonard spent a good amount of time debating what happened to her and Raj after they were caught walking out of the room in the morning.

At thar point, she declared that "it's not what it looks like" although she didn't elaborate, making it more confusing. However, Raj later explained to Penny that they "didn't have sex in the conventional sense." They were about to move forward, but Raj had trouble putting protection on. Penny trying to help didn't actually help at all, as it caused Raj to finish before starting.

Afterward, this incident was never mentioned again in The Big Bang Theory. This makes sense considering Penny and Leonard got back together and eventually got married making the brief affair with Raj seem too awkward to bring up. At the end of The Big Bang Theory, it was revealed that the Hofstadters were expecting their first child. As for Raj, he was still holding out hope that his soulmate was out there.

Raj's Sex Life Makes The Joke Fall Flat

The Show Misrepresented Raj And Penny's Romantic Pasts

Over The Big Bang Theory's 12-season run, the idea that Penny is promiscuous is often the butt of the joke — but throughout the series, Raj had more partners than she did. Penny had roughly five confirmed partners, whereas Raj had at least 10 relationships on The Big Bang Theory. Ultimately, it doesn't line up with his character, who is so terrified of women that he doesn't speak around them for quite some time.

Out of everyone on the show, Raj had the most romances. On the other hand, Penny had the lowest number of partners out of the core cast except Sheldon and Howard. This makes the joke fall flat as Penny is often considered promiscuous when it's actually Raj who has more partners. Overall, the joke of Penny and Raj sleeping together falls in line with complaints about The Big Bang Theory being rather sexist at times, and the double standard in this situation is made painfully obvious.

This Penny And Raj Storyline Wasn't Popular

The Showrunners Expressed Their Own Dislike Of The Storyline

There were many complaints about The Big Bang Theory over the years, even from loyal fans. It's rare a show can last 12 seasons and have a spotless record. However, despite all the times the show fell short with its stories, the Penny and Raj storyline remains one of the most hated. Even the show's creators regretted this storyline and wished they could have changed it. Chuck Lorre came up with the idea of Penny and Raj in bed at the end of season 4, an idea that Steve Molaro didn't agree with (via TV Line).

"I really did not like that season finale ending. I spent the entire hiatus being upset about it… I went upstairs to [Lorre’s] office right when we got back to work [on Season 5] and said something like, ‘This is really bothering me. I think I have a way that we can… get out of it and preserve the characters as they are.’ He didn’t love it, but he knew it was important to me to the point that he conceded."

Molaro does give Lorre credit for getting Penny and Raj out of the predicament by writing in the premature ejaculation explanation. Fans also seemed to hate the Penny and Raj storyline for several reasons. For one thing, Penny had just revealed her feelings for Leonard, and this seemed to betray Penny's feelings and Raj's friendship with Leonard. It seemed to be put into the show for shock, and if it had stuck, it could have ruined both characters on The Big Bang Theory.