The Absolute Worst Thing Howard Ever Did To Raj On The Big Bang Theory
As the 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory progressed, there was no doubt that Howard Wolowitz became a better man. But it took a lot of work to get there, and on the way there was one person who dealt with his bad side more than any other.
Howard (Simon Helberg) wasn't really a great friend to the rest of The Big Bang Theory cast, particularly when the audience was first introduced to the show. Throughout early seasons, the engineer would do absolutely anything to get a girl's attention, up to and including throwing his friends under a bus if he thought it would help. Howard hooked up with Penny's (Kaley Cuoco) frenemy in Penny's own bed, repeatedly hit on Penny despite her making it abundantly clear it made her uncomfortable, and even brought Stephanie (Sara Sue) to drive around the Mars Rover in an attempt to get her into bed (which is not only stupid but would also be highly illegal). Sadly, Raj (Kunal Nayyar), Howard's best friend in the group, was often his biggest victim when it came to him tossing people to the wolves in order to get with women.
Somehow, with Raj being the awkward and shy foreigner who was also very effeminate (so much so that his sexuality was often the topic of discussion), the group constantly ragged on him throughout the 12 seasons. While they had plenty of wonderful moments together, if someone in the group was going to be relentlessly picked on for something, it was almost always Raj — and Howard was almost always going to be the one doing the picking. But there's one moment that stands out amongst the rest as the worst thing Howard ever did to Raj.
Howard's biggest offense against Raj is somewhat different than all the rest
Howard has committed a number of friend-crimes against Raj. While flying kites with Raj one afternoon, Howard handed his line over to Raj after he got distracted by a woman who walked by. Raj ended up losing a prize Patang kite from India that his brother had given him as a child. (Howard then tried to replace with a Hello Kitty kite that was underwhelming by comparison.) Raj also nearly got talked into getting a tattoo because he and Howard met two goth girls in a bar, and was very publicly humiliated by Howard in front of actress Summer Glau (as herself) because Howard wanted her to himself. (Seriously, could Howard not just let his painfully shy friend get the girl just once?) All throughout The Big Bang Theory as well, Howard regularly mocked Raj for being sensitive.
And on that very note, Howard was quite cruel to Raj after his wife Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) fell pregnant during season 9. Raj, being the ever-sensitive and caring friend he was, jumped in to help Bernadette out wherever he could while she was expecting. Howard, being the somewhat less-than-helpful man we knew him to be, felt that Raj was making him look bad because he was comparatively doing nothing to help out his wife. No, buddy, you made yourself look bad there. Your wife is pregnant — pull up your socks and help out for a change.
Raj was doing for Bernadette what most women's husbands would be doing for her
While Raj may have gotten a little too close to the couple (his and Howard's relationship often seemed to be creeping into more-than-friends territory over the years), many of the things he was doing for Bernadette were honestly just helpful or sweet. On the episode titled "The Big Bear Precipitation," Raj went with Bernadette to the grocery store and insisted on carrying the groceries for her. He also accompanied Bernadette to her appointment at the doctor, showed her where to find childbirth videos online so that she would be prepared for what she'd be going through, bought an ultrasonic microphone so that the couple could hear the baby's heartbeat, and gifted her a giant teddy bear.
Raj seemed to be doing all the things most women would expect their husbands to be falling over themselves to do to be helpful while she's expecting. But true to form, while Raj was helping Bernadette with all her errands, Howard lazed around on the couch playing video games and asking whether his wife had bought the cereal he wanted.
A moment of annoyance and instant regret
The result was Howard telling his friend to back off because he wasn't a part of their family. Bernadette wasn't exactly on board with her husband's attitude towards Raj, telling him she thought he was being sweet for wanting to help them out, but she let Howard send his friend packing anyway. Fortunately, fans did get to see Howard's slightly softer side as he had almost instant regret after Raj dejectedly left their house, and it didn't take long for a very hormonal Bernadette to start bawling over his leaving (and, of course, taking the giant teddy bear with him when he did).
While it's true that Raj wasn't a part of Howard and Bernadette's little family, he was still Howard's best friend — someone who had been by Howard's side despite all the horrible things he had done to him over the years. They've always been unusually close, and for Howard to be annoyed by his best friend trying to help during Bernadette's pregnancy showed a particularly nasty side of his personality. Knowing that Raj was fairly lonely on the romance front, Howard should have had more compassion for him, and definitely should have been more grateful that his friend was picking up all the slack wen he couldn't be bothered to help his wife.