Comedian Ricky Gervais said he did nothing wrong while hosting Hollywood's Golden Globes ceremony, and was merely "confronting the elephant in the room" with his controversial jokes about bad movies and stars in rehab.

The British comic, best-known for creating the TV series "The Office", was widely criticized for having a "mean-spirited" attitude when he hosted the Golden Globe awards dinner on Sunday in a live telecast.

But he told Piers Morgan in a television interview: "I don't think I did anything wrong. I honestly, you know those were like jibes at these people and I'm sure they've got a sense of humor."

Gervais denied he was mocking the room full of A-list movie and TV stars with his jokes about Scientology, bad behavior, and the organizers of the event -- the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

"I'm confronting the elephant in the room. They hired me -- like I'm going to go out there and not talk about the issues in their industry?" Gervais said.

"Don't forget, I've got to be an outsider there. I mustn't come out there as everyone's mate and schmooze. That's nauseating. I've got to come out there and I've got to roast them," he told Morgan.

The full interview is due to be broadcast on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight" show on Thursday.

Gervais said he had made it a condition of taking the Golden Globes job that he could say whatever he liked. Wanting to be liked or second-guessing his remarks meant "you're finished as a comedian," he added.

Gervais said on Tuesday he would not host the Golden Globes again after doing it for two straight years. "I think twice is enough," he told celebrity website TMZ.com.