Dr. Leonard Hofstadter is the straight man in The Big Bang Theory. As the most conventional and put-together member of the group, he has less trouble functioning in social situations than his initially hapless friends. Like the others, Leonard works at Caltech as an experimental physicist, a job he holds for the entirety of the series.
However, despite his superior social skills, there are times when Leonard does the worst possible thing. Whether it’s inappropriate behavior in the workplace or speaking without thinking first, the bespectacled physicist gets into trouble more than once, and a lot of his shenanigans should’ve resulted in his termination.
Overall Lack Of Achievement
In stark contrast to Sheldon, Howard, and even Raj, Leonard doesn’t achieve much in his line of work. A running gag in the show is that Leonard is stuck and has no original research. Instead, he settles for replicating the results of other people’s experiments.
It takes him twelve seasons to finally get some assertiveness and demand the university to give him funding for an ambitious experiment. They decline but make him the co-lead in another experiment because apparently, they didn’t want to lose him, for some unexplained reason.
Meeting With HR
It seems that every time the guys visit human resources, things end badly for them. As the least problematic member of the group, Leonard only goes to Mrs. Davis in extreme situations. However, his mistakes are often so egregious that it’s strange they never get him fired.
In the infamous season 6 episode “The Egg Salad Equivalency,” Sheldon tells Mrs. Davis that Leonard was “bragging about his sexual desirability to anyone who would listen.” The accusation is pretty appalling, especially because it’s somewhat true. And given the company he keeps, no one blames Mrs. Davis for distrusting Leonard.
Clumsy Attempts To Get Tenure
In the season 6 episode “The Tenure Turbulence,” Leonard competes with Sheldon, Raj, and Kripke for tenure at Caltech. They each stoop to ridiculous and ethically questionable levels to get the coveted position. Leonard attempts to bond with Mrs. Davis by working out with her, but he only succeeds in giving himself a heart attack.
Penny then flirts with the members of the tenure committee to further Leonard’s cause. The worst part is, she does it while at Professor Tupperman’s funeral, which is a new level of shamelessness. The show never reveals who won the tenure position in the end, but it’s safe to say none of the guys did.
Revealing Government Secrets
Throughout season 10, Leonard works with Sheldon and Howard on a guidance system for the military. Eventually, they take over the project at the end of the season, leaving the guys out of the final stages. In season 11, however, Sheldon has an idea and contacts the military behind Leonard and Howard’s backs. Angry and betrayed, they, in turn, go to Barry Kripke, who double-crosses everyone and takes the project for himself.
This is one of those situations where Leonard’s naiveté gets the best of him. And the fact he goes around spreading government secrets like they are nothing should’ve been a red flag for the university and the military.
Falsifying Data
In the season 2 finale, “The Monopolar Expedition,” all four guys agree to go on an expedition to the North Pole to detect magnetic monopoles, thus proving the validity of string theory. However, and after three months locked in with Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard tamper with the results of one of his experiments, leading him to believe he confirmed string theory “and forever changed man’s understanding of the universe.”
Sheldon sends an e-mail to the university confirming his positive results. Surely, when President Siebert found out it was all a ruse, Leonard, Howard, and Raj would’ve been in serious trouble for falsifying data.
Buying Ilegal Helium
In the season 9 episode “The Helium Insufficiency,” Sheldon and Leonard discover that a Swedish team is trying to prove their Superfluid Helium theory. In desperate need of liquid helium, they turn to one of Howard’s shady dealers to buy it from the black market.
Because of their innate clumsiness, Leonard and Sheldon struggle with the choice. In the end, their desire to beat the Swedish team convinces them to go through with it. This is one of the most dangerous things Leonard does in the entire series and would mean his immediate termination if anyone ever found out.
The Joyce Kim Debacle
Joyce Kim was a North Korean spy and one of Leonard’s former girlfriends. At the time, Leonard was working on a rocket fuel project under DARPA contract and Joyce Kim was attempting to get information about his work. The two dated for 27 days in 2003 before she defected back to North Korea.
It’s clear that, if not for Sheldon’s convenient interruption, Leonard would’ve revealed delicate secrets to a foreign spy, thus endangering not only his career but his entire country. And the fact that Leonard was willing to do it is more than a bit problematic.
Using Grant Money To Buy A Laser
In season 12, President Siebert puts Leonard in charge of deciding what to do with some extra funding. Raj, Kripke, and Dr. Lee all want the grant money, forcing the famously insecure Leonard to become more assertive and decisive when saying no.
In the end, unable to choose whose project is worthier, Leonard simply keeps the money himself and buys a laser he doesn’t need. It’s a selfish choice, one that brings no benefit to the university, unlike Raj, Kripke, and Dr. Lee’s projects. And while it’s nice to see Leonard standing up for himself, it’s a shame he did it in such a self-centered way.
“Physics Is Dead”
In the season 11 episode “The Retraction Reaction,” Leonard gives an interview on public radio where he literally states that Caltech is making no important breakthrough in physics. He goes as far as admitting that physics research itself might be a dead-end.
Leonard not only discredits himself and the university but also his entire field of work. It’s still unclear why Caltech chose to keep him employed, even after he apologized. After all, he embarrassed them in a very public way and proved that he isn’t really a team player.
Sleeping With Penny In His Office
In the season 6 episode “The Holographic Excitation,” Penny wants to understand more about Leonard’s work. She visits him at Caltech and he explains some of his experiments to her. Aroused, she initiates sex with him, which he’s more than happy to accept.
They do it several times, and Leonard is always rather shameless about it. This is not only unprofessional but it’s also dangerous for both him and Penny. His lab is full of delicate equipment and letting Penny near them is totally reckless.
