be derogatory, mean-spirited, etc. They are loving jabs by friends
and/or respected peers in the business with laughter that is not
out of nervousness or a feeling of the speaker making them feel
awkward and on the defensive. Think of the light-hearted atmosphere
at the Dean Martin roasts in contrast to the way that Gervais did it.
~ I can sing better than Taylor Hicks!
The amount of commotion is ridiculous, though. The people in that room knew what they were in for. So did those who invited him back to host. Precious few people involved can genuinely claim ignorance about it.
They all know that he's a comedian and this is what he does. He's snarky and there are often no limits to what he will say. He wasn't ever going to suck up to those people and be nice, and they knew that.
They knew he was going to be insulting and controversial. I'm sure that's what they wanted, to gain ratings and publicity for the show. They may act upset but they want people to be offended and to keep talking about it.
I don't even like the guy and I'm not really defending him, but he is who he is. He wasn't ever going to go about it any differently, so I think it's best to just accept it.
>>> He wasn't ever going to suck up to those people and be nice,
and they knew that. <<<
The opposite of sucking up means that he is either ambivalent or
negatively critical of them. So, your sentence does not mean he
would automatically be rude. He could make friendly jabs that
are not disrespectful.
I can sing better than Taylor Hicks!
That's true. I apologize, I didn't phrase that well.
But I am saying given his reputation, it was inevitable that he would be mean and disrespectful. Of course no one could be sure of the exact things he would end up saying, but it was clear that none of it would be very amicable.
Did he have to be that way? Certainly not. He could have gone about it much differently and made jokes without being nasty. It's no surprise that he chose not to, though.
So I suppose the point being that he shouldn't have been asked to host. If people are truly enraged by him, then the Globes people can learn a lesson from this.