It’s a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is “minimally jackassed, though of course nobody’s perfect” and 10 is “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest!”
Please rate their TYPICAL jackassery, not the extremes. That is, if you feel Bernadette is generally sweet but was an uber-bitch during the scavenger hunt, go by the former rather than the latter.
Sheldon - 10
Howard - 8
Leonard - 6
Penny - 4
Amy - 4
Bernadette - 2
Howard could actually be worse than Sheldon because he knows better. Amy may be worse than Penny because much of Penny’s jackassery is due to her proximity and frequency of contact with all the guys.
Sheldon-5 (his obsession with protocol is my lone complaint)
Leonard-2 (most normal male lead)
Raj-2
Penny-1 (most normal female lead)
AFF-3
Bernadette-3
Howard-5 (marriage has mellowed him out IMO)
Leonard - 5 (your average nerd jackass)
Sheldon - 8 (knock off 2 points cause he doesn’t realize he’s being a jackass)
Penny - 3 (she’s just so sweet about it)
Howard - 5 (marriage has mellowed him)
Raj - 5 (most of his jackassery is caused by insecurity)
Bernadette - 3 (again, the sweetness card)
Amy - 3 (sweet and she just tries so hard)
Stewart - 4 (you forgot he’s a regular now)
Evil Wil - not a jackass. Just fiendishly delightful
Leslie Winkle - 10. She is Darlene Connor.
Rhymers forget nothing, and if you were not on the Short List I’d have released the bees for suggesting otherwise. I just didn’t KNOW he was a regular.
Leonard 6 - can be a creep, but is self-aware enough to know it and to even on occasion do the right thing.
Sheldon 10+ - In real life no one would put up with him and he’d be compelled to change, but on a sitcom much of the comedy depends on his jackassery
Penny - 5 normal human female, but a rating as a 10 based on the teddy worn in last night’s show.
Howard - 8 . How/Why Bernadette puts up with him, I’ll never know.
Raj 5 - just insecure
Bernadette - 6 - sweet, but don’t cross her.
Amy 1 - a doormat
Howard is downgraded from a 9 since mellowed quite a bit since getting married.
Sheldon upgraded from a 7 since the beginning of the show when it was he was oblivious to his bad behavior. Now it is obvious he knows he’s being a jerk but is too arrogant to give a hoot about anyone but himself (his “I care but not enough to do anything about it” comment is an example of this)
Penny uses people. She has from the very beginning. See below for the other reason why she got such a high Jerk Rate.
Raj can be a jerk, especially to women.
Bernie and Amy never try to be jerky. And I will always love Bernie for her “Come at me. See what happens” line to Penny when Penny was doing her typical I’m-from-Nebraska’s-Methlab-basket-so-I’m-all-kinds-of-tough act.
I rate Raj higher than most of those who have posted already. Raj is at his jerkiest when he’s feeling the most confidence. Remember his People magazine moment? He was a huge jerk and didn’t come back down from it until his insecurities returned. I’d say it’s not his insecurity causing his jerkiness as much as his insecurity is the only thing keeping him in any way likable.
I’m rating based on my own social milieu, where a lot of the geek-specific peculiarities get a pass - a guy who is fussy about fandom stuff isn’t being a jerk, necessarily.
Raj: 10 - he’s a big jerk, and the “insecurity” is a smokescreen. The “Top 40 under 40” award thing has been noted, as well as his attitude to women, but also - he jumped into bed with Penny, that’s possibly the jerkiest thing anyone in the show has ever done.
Sheldon: 9 - he’s generally a selfish jerk, but he’s also made up for it/apologised on occasion.
Howard: 7 - old Howard would be a 9, but as noted, he’s mellowed.
Bernadette: 4 - They are rather turning her into a shrill harpy, aren’t they?
Penny: 3 - generally OK, but she’s done a little too much using to get a pass
Leonard:2 - sometimes a bit passive/aggressive and needy, but generally OK.
Amy: 2 - the constantly-hitting-on-Penny thing was jerkish, but generally OK.
SHELDON! Is there any doubt who’s the biggest jackass? 10
.
.
.
.
Leonard 8
Raj 8
Bernadette 7
(new) Howard (seems to have matured quite a bit) 6
Penny 4
.
.
Amy (Hardly does anything jackassery at all) 2
Raj 9. He had the hots for Bernadette and Penny and tried to do something about it- not cool. The scene where he said “so long, losers” to the lonely guys at the comic store was typical Raj.
Howard 7. Male chauvinist horndog. He was as bad as Raj until he got with Bernadette.
Leonard 6. He’s just a whiny little bitch.
Sheldon 5. He has some good points, willing to lend people money and offering hot beverages to people when they’re sad. If you take the class and stay out of his spot, you’re good.
Bernadette 3. Not as sweet anymore since she got the Ph D and big bucks, now she’s becoming the Amazon queen of her apartment.
Amy 2. Can be cold at times but considering she’s in love with the Ice King, to be understood. Less fun now that her lesbian crush on Penny seems to be over.
Penny 1. Most normal of the bunch with breasts that defy gravity.