Kaley Cuoco Disliked Big Bang Theory Storyline So Much, She Got It Cut
She was adamant Leonard would not be a sperm donor for her ex.
No show can run for 12 seasons without some sort of controversy or off-screen drama. And it's widely acknowledged that The Big Bang Theory was one of the shows with the least amount of tension between cast and crew.
Of course, it has been the subject of some controversy - especially in the last few years, with the benefit of hindsight. And there have been times when cast members have been unhappy with a storyline and have intervened to get it cut. For example, Kaley Cuoco spoke out about the idea of Leonard donating sperm to Penny's ex-boyfriend Zack.
Problematic storyline
During the last season of TBBT, the subject of babies came up between Leonard and Penny, with Penny saying that she couldn't see herself ever having children. This surprised Leonard, but he came around to the idea. But then Zack appeared and revealed that he couldn't have kids. A tough subject for a comedy show - and one that had to be handled sensitively.
Despite initially saying it was entirely Leonard's decision, Penny wasn't happy when he agreed to Zack's request and tried to scupper the plan. She didn't want kids herself, but that didn't mean she wanted someone else to have little Leonards running around.
In the end, Leonard agreed to go ahead and donate his sperm. For a while, the showrunners were on board with the idea. But Cuoco was adamantly against it.
Speaking to TV Line, Steve Holland admitted: "We talked about going down [that] route where Leonard was the sperm donor… but the conclusion we came to was that it wouldn’t feel OK. People had different opinions about it in the writers room, but it wasn’t going to be satisfying."
Kaley was right
One up for Kaley Cuoco and those who agreed with her that it was a step too far. Not that she had a big problem with the idea being discussed. She told TV Line, "There’s a lot of storylines you need if you’re going to run 12 years,” adding “You’re going to hit a doozy once in a while!"
And that wasn't the only time she tried to get a scene cut. She wasn't happy about being covered in hair for the Serial Ape-ist storyline. But it was an argument she lost.
Source: TV Line.