Bizarre court compromise

The courtroom yesterday erupted into laughter as other lawyers listening to ourt court room sparring led to the most bizzare compromise arrangement I have ever encounter.
My client sued two defendants. My client sued a life insurance company and its agent.
I entered into a compromise arrangement with the insurance company and we signed a compromise agreement which we have submitted to the court already.
During the hearing of the compromise agreement yesterday, the counsel for the other defendant, the insurance agent refused to sign the compromise agreement because he wanted my client to apologize in writing to his client, as a precondition to signing the compromise.
Otherwise, he said he will pursue with the legal proceedings and cross examine my client.
I manifested before the court that I am at a loss in convincing my client into signing an apology as a precondition to a compromise.
My client was asking me how a "sorry letter" fits in a compromise arrangement when a compromise is supposed to settle things amicably, without having to ascetain who was at fault.
The counsel for the insurance agent was struggling to respond, in the end justifying his condition by saying that since my client was a man, and his client a woman, it is only fitting that the man apologize to the woman.
This elicited a reaction from the counsel for the insurance company who manifested in jest by saying that since his client is neither a man nor a woman, he would dispense with the apologies, generating laughter from the audience.