Thread:Weedle McHairybug/@comment-1191892-20200203180054/@comment-1191892-20200203183651

Arguably it was, it's a joke where you need information from outside the fiction in order to "get" it (ie, that Don Rickles is a human being who has done other work, not just a Mr. Potato Head toy), and so reminds you of your role as a member of an audience. It's just a more subtle form because it doesn't completely depart from things that character would do.

As said, this is very similar to the Raikov/Raiden connection: Raikov works as a character in MGS3 who Zero hates for reasons he can't easily articulate, but as an audience member you're supposed to understand this is actually a reference to the fanbase's reaction to Raiden with Zero playing a Western fan and Big Boss playing a Japanese fan. Amusing on two levels.