Oscar Producers Meron and Zadan Defend Seth MacFarlane, Boob Song: Complainers 'Missed the Joke'

Three weeks after the Oscars, producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan are defending host Seth MacFarlane, who came under fire from critics, bloggers and special interest groups for a show they called intolerant.

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"We were really, really proud of Seth MacFarlane. He did an amazing job," Meron told The Hollywood Reporter at the GLAAD awards in Manhattan on Saturday. "He did the job that we wanted him to do. Seth is irreverent -- he comments on things that happen in our culture, and that's what he did. We thought he did an extraordinary job."

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

Meron echoed that point.

"People have complained for years and years that the Oscars were becoming irrelevant. And I think what we did this year is to really make them part of the cultural conversation, and I think that's the important part that people will take away."

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As for one of the most criticized elements of the show, the "Boobs Song," in which MacFarlane sang about different actresses' topless scenes, Zadan said that critics didn't understand the bit.

"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."

"Everyone who complained missed the joke, it was satire," Meron said.

Email: Jordan.Zakarin@THR.com; Twitter: @JordanZakarin