Seth MacFarlane's stint as host of this year's Academy Awards telecast drew divisive reviews, prompting a love-it-or-hate-it response from audiences and critics alike. Now, the producers of the show are hitting back at those in the “hate it” camp, telling the Hollywood Reporter that they're proud of MacFarlane's effort, and that those who were offended by his remarks just didn't get his subversive humor.

“He did the job that we wanted him to do,” producer Neil Meron told THR. “Seth is irreverent, he comments on things that happen in our culture, and that's what he did and we thought he did an extraordinary job.”

“I spoke to somebody yesterday and they were disappointed that he didn't go further,” added fellow producer Craig Zadan. “So you can't really gauge; somebody thinks it's too much, some people think it's just enough. ... He brought in the youngest demos that the Oscars have ever had.”

That younger crowd reportedly ate up MacFarlane's act, which included an extended sequence where he video conferenced with a from-the-future William Shatner, who told MacFarlane his hosting gig was reviled as the worst in history. That gag also featured the much-maligned “Boobs Song,” an ode to the actresses who appeared topless in 2012 films, though Zadan was quick to point out that that wasn't the point of the musical number at all.

“It was not about the women that were mentioned, the song was about him being a bad host and him being a juvenile, which was why he was a bad host,” he said.

“Everyone who complained missed the joke, it was satire,” added Meron.

[via THR]

Earlier on Moviefone:

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