I don't think Brian was lapping it up, I think he genuinely felt attacked and was trying to defend himself. I don't agree at all that he has taken homosexuality back ten years, I think for how upset he was about it he tried to argue seriously and make his points heard, he wouldn't let the girls hug him because he wanted to make a stand and didn't want to just run away crying with his friends following behind him. Your gay friends may not act like Brian but that doesn't mean he's wrong. I have many straight friends and we all act very differently too, there is no set behaviour that people of certain sexualities should adhere to.
I don't like Jim Davidson, I think he's a horrible bully and I find it laughable when he tries to slip in the self pitying 'I'm a victim' lines. however, I do feel that the 'good as you' lines mat have been a half hearted attempt by him to pacify the situation (that said, one attempt does not cancel out all previous comments) but it was misinterpreted because he had already got everyone so riled. I think he may have said more abusive stuff before what we saw because when Paul was telling Barry about it he said 'Jim came out and started bullying all of them but particularly Brian' and he said to Jim 'I don't understand what you were playing at, why you came out and said all that to begin with'