That would be the equivalent, IMOSHO, of a chick making jokes about what a tiny penis you have in front of her friends, then saying, "Oh, it's just a joke!"
This is a very general comment...lately i've mostly thought better of it and kept my mouth shut - or said something else - when i have the idea of saying something that is only not insulting on the basis that it is received as not serious.
(I say mostly because doubtless there have been some exceptions... )
I.e. anything that would be very rude if it was not a joke...maybe don't say it unless you are 100% sure it will be understood as a joke. And can we ever be 100% sure...?
This is notwithstanding the huge popularity of that sort of 'humor'...sometimes it's just not worth it...