Didn’t he stay on script? He appeared to be reading a teleprompter when he paused and questioned going ahead with the joke about the woman in Cats licking her own crotch.
You're right - it was a setup.
Ricky was scripted to do a job, which was to spank the crowd, humble them, to rehabilitate them Hollywood style. Isn't that the way it's done, a short stint in a pricey clinic, a little discomfort, a public display of obeisance, then it's back to business as usual?
Forget about that Weinberg/Spacey business - one night of ridicule served to restore the moral high ground - now suitably chastened and "woke", they can get back to work - being the world's moral compass. Besides, it's great theatre - call it "50 Shades of Gervais".
Next time, they can get back to telling us what to believe.