They only acted like they could take a joke. What really happened is that they took it personally, and held a grudge for the rest of their lives. There was just no Anti Social Media to air their grievances for the world to see and pick sides.
REMEMBER WHEN PEOPLE WEREN'T SO EASILY OFFENDED AND PEOPLE COULD TAKE JOKES AS JOKES BEFORE THE "POLITICALLY CORRECT"/SNOWFLAKE ERA? PEPPERIDGE FARM REMEMBERS