That's what always irked me about haters almost as much as their hate, perhaps (almost) even more so: the backpedaling and denial. At least if someone stands and admits what they did or are for and takes what's coming to them, then at least there's that. But they never do.
Naturally they won't act on their hate (save for a rare few, hence my "almost" above), but they never have the decency and self respect (if that could be warranted) to stare whomever straight in the eye and say, "Yeah, I said it." I mean, the words are still there, so denial is irrelevant to begin with.