Jim Parsons Responds To Big Bang Theory Cast Criticizing His Departure

Jim Parsons opens up about The Big Bang Theory cast’s criticism of how his exit from the show was handled. In 2018, news broke that The Big Bang Theory was ending with its twelfth season. Initially, there was no official reason for its cancelation, making it more shocking considering how popular the series still was. Eventually, it was revealed that The Big Bang Theory‘s ending was decided after Parsons expressed his desire to leave the nerd-centric sitcom. Instead of moving forward without the Sheldon actor, the rest of the cast and producers thought it was best to wrap it all up with a complete cast.

Although it seemed like The Big Bang Theory‘s ending was drama-free, that wasn’t exactly the case. As revealed in a recent oral history book, Johnny Galecki was disappointed with how Parsons’ news was delivered, saying he was blindsided by the news, while Kaley Cuoco and Parsons even experienced conflict over it. Now, Parsons responds to these comments in a new interview with Yahoo! as he promotes his latest project, Spoiler Alert. Read his full quote below:

It’s never nice to hear that you’ve done anything that’s even accidentally made somebody angry or feel bad. But I was doing what I had to do, and that was the best way for me to handle it. To be honest, we weren’t the kind of group that I felt needed to have a group meeting in that way.

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Why Parsons Left The Big Bang Theory

Not long before The Big Bang Theory was announced to be ending, CBS even said they were interested in ordering at least another season. Technically, the series could have continued without Parsons, because the rest of the cast was still on board with it. However, they also realized that Sheldon was its true lead, and losing him would leave a big hole in the show that would be difficult, if not impossible to fill. Parsons’ decision to leave The Big Bang Theory was due to an amalgamation of several things, but it was ultimately his realization that it was time to move on and venture out with his career that inspired him to pull the trigger.

It’s worth noting, however, that Galecki’s criticism isn’t towards Parsons’ decision to exit The Big Bang Theory. He said he understood his co-star’s choice, and that his problem was the way it was handled. Instead of having a dialogue about it, the cast was simply presented with the information that Parsons was leaving and, therefore, The Big Bang Theory had to end. In any case, it sounds as if everyone was able to get past the difficult situation and even come up with the emotionally satisfying The Big Bang Theory finale. Cuoco even subsequently said the show’s ending was a blessing in disguise for her.

Despite its end in 2019, The Big Bang Theory lives on through its first and only spinoff, Young Sheldon. Parsons is still involved in the family sitcom, providing the voice for older Sheldon, not to mention producing the series. Some of his former co-stars on the nerd-centric sitcom have made cameos, although Galecki has yet to appear as Leonard Hofstadter.

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Source: Yahoo!