Don't need to sugarcoat. I perfectly understand the undertone of the comment. I don't need to think twice to understand the allegory, meaning that for those who are simple in mind, a mildly better-written character would look Shakespearian and come off as complex. There are many other ways to express how things are relative that haven't got the same connotation attached to them, but I guess those are to simple and not complex enough.
I am not someone who can't understand subtle name-calling; I just don't like engaging in it because it is spineless.