They simply tried to lower the tension. This type of humour is their watermark
Yeah, I agree with that assessment, but that tone is absolutely not okay in the current context.
If very dark humour is your “type of humour”, it doesn’t mean you can just go “business as usual” and make dark jokes around someone right after they lost a loved one, had a tragic accident, got SA’d, etc.
Linus tried to weasel out of the GN accusations by saying he “failed to read the room”. That was because entertainment is about reading the room, while reviewing is about accuracy and objectivity. Then, he failed to recognize that (but GN was there to remind everyone, fortunately).
In this case, however, when going with their usual “entertainment” vibe, he should have “read the room”. Which not only he failed miserably to do, but all of the LMG management (including the new “they’re gonna solve all the problems” additions) too apparently.
This does not bode well for LMG. It is proof they are clueless, do not have the skills to fix their problems, and aren’t to be expected to get any better. It’s a shame, because it was good entertainment. At least for as long as I had Linus in my blind spot. Now, I can’t unsee it, and I can absolutely imagine how much of a bully he is remembered being by people from his past (he mentioned that in passing here and there).