I took it as a joke, although one I did both laugh and wince at. It hurt, yeah, but if delivered in a different way, was more in spirit of how The Balcony "sucks ass." And Balconiers get roasted and laugh at themselves. Or they used to get. As I pontificated above, it's probably a joke that doesn't work with HDTGM's current brand, which has softened its humour and shies away from personal attacks (and even reviewing particular movies) that they used to not be so shy about.
I'm glad you reached out to him, though. I know he genuinely cares about people in his audience, and I think you speak for all of us here.