The blowback against Sean Spicer’s Emmys appearance came pretty quickly, but know this: Stephen Colbert and the show’s producers reportedly expected that. They just thought the surprise laughs would be worth the trouble.

On Sunday night, Spicer wheeled onto the stage with a lectern to comment on the gala’s crowd: “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period,” he said. “Both in person and around the world.” Moments after he welcomed Spicer to the stage, Colbert described HBO’s movie The Wizard of Lies as “the Sean Spicer story,” perhaps in an attempt to regain his balance after the seemingly friendly cameo. Still, for many, the damage was done.

The room erupted in shock and awe, just as Colbert and his team reportedly expected—but that quickly gave way to a wave of criticism, particularly on social media, as viewers and celebrities sounded off on what they saw as a misguided gesture. According to CNN, it was Colbert himself who suggested the gimmick just days before the show went live. “Colbert wondered aloud if Spicer might play along,” CNN’s Brian Stelter reported, “and one of his Late Show producers then pitched it, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the skit.” Spicer was already in Los Angeles for Jimmy Kimmel’s show last Wednesday. He briefly flew back east, to his home near Washington, then returned to Los Angeles for a secret dress rehearsal before the broadcast.” Spicer practiced his lines in a practically empty auditorium, Stelter added—a precaution taken to prevent leaks. (Perhaps the Trump administration should be taking notes.)

Video: Sean Spicer’s 7 Best Moments as Press Secretary

Of all the late-night hosts, Colbert has seemingly gained the most from his vocally antagonistic stance against the president; it’s largely what propelled him past his competitor Jimmy Fallon in the ratings, especially after Fallon’s hair-ruffling incident last fall. But as some critics have pointed out, inviting Spicer to appear at the Emmys to lampoon his former White House role smacks a bit of normalization. Sure, Spicer isn’t the same as Trump, but shouldn’t he be held accountable for the misinformation he knowingly spread during his tenure as press secretary? Especially since, as Colbert himself put it on Jimmy Kimmel Live just last week, “[Spicer] wants to be forgiven, but he won’t regret anything he did. You’ve got to regret something you did to be forgiven.” (Spicer appeared on Kimmel last week, too; apparently in addition to lining up speaking gigs, he’s also making the rounds with showbiz folks.) As MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell put it on Twitter, “Emmys helped Spicer pump up his ‘lecture’ fees which is all that matters to him now.”

It’s worth noting that a slew of celebrities also seemed eager to rub elbows with the former pariah Sunday night; Spicer was the belle of the ball on the Los Angeles party circuit, where he even snagged a kiss on the cheek from Late Late Show host James Corden. (Is that better or worse than a hair ruffle?) Still, plenty of celebrities were less than enchanted with the idea of letting Spicer laugh off his complicity in the Trump administration:

“I’m not ready to laugh ‘with’ Sean Spicer,” Zach Braff tweeted. “I think he is an evil, opportunistic liar that hurt our country.”

Jenny Slate took things a step further, writing, “Truly so grossed out by A GROUP of people ever even considering the idea of real life Spicer at the Emmys. What is wrong with you? Wake up.”

And then there was Seth Rogen, who responded in perhaps the most on-brand way possible: “Wish I was at the Emmys so I could have jerked off @seanspicer too!”

A few more:

No matter how these celebrities, critics, and comedians might feel, however, know this: Spicer himself is totally jazzed about how things went Sunday night. “Life outside of the White House has been shockingly enjoyable,” Spicer told Entertainment Weekly during an after-party in Los Angeles. Regarding his Emmys gig, he added, “everyone has been very gracious”—despite the fact that “it’s not exactly a Republican crowd.”