How about from NBC Out, in an article that backs me up that this is a long-standing and widely heard phrase?
As a bonus: The original video, fact-checked:
And back in 2021:
The defense appears to be, "Oh, they were being sarcastic, or ironic." For whose benefit?
On a related note, people lie for one of two basic reasons:
1. To get something they can't get if they're truthful, or
2. To keep something that the truth would cost them.
These are people who have nothing to gain by promoting themselves as sexual predators against children. But they have a lot to lose if the wrong ears hear them do it.