Firstly: I think we can put aside the idea that he was too 'extreme' or 'inappropriate' for now, and say that the majority of what he came out with was largely unfunny anyway. (IMO, obviously.) I'm not even a diehard hater of the guy, either; I usually find him tolerable. He had a few amusing quips in there, but the rest...simply wasn't funny. At least, not to me.
Secondly, if he'd kissed their asses like they were royalty, that would have been just as bad as launching an all-out attack on anybody who stepped foot on the stage, in all fairness. His routine wasn't even that offensive, anyway.
However, there's a certain way to 'do' insults in a comedic manner. A few barbs now and then -- and this is for awards shows in general, not this one in particular -- are always great, but when it gets to the point where the atmosphere becomes tense or uncomfortable, that's when you've crossed the line. No matter how badly some of these celebrities need a reality check (and boy, are there a few of those), they were just there to collect awards, for presumably halfway decent work. You wouldn't want to get Employee of the Month only to be reminded by your boss while he gives it you how he slept with your ex-wife, and oh, wasn't that old heroin addiction hilarious?
Third, that Gervais actually seemed to be trying to find out how far he could push the boundaries is slightly attention whore-ish, and either way, it doesn't really matter. There's no such thing as bad publicity, after all. Not only that, but there are plenty of other awards shows, and celebrities have survived far worse scandals than him (e.g. Jonathon Ross and Russell Brand in that whole Sachs thing). So, in conclusion: nobody will remember the whole thing by this time next week. Life goes on.
I rather liked Robert Downey Jr.'s reply, though. Get in there, dude.
