"Well one person's "bad taste" is another's ROFL"

Sometimes, though, it's a little more subtle: I often get the impression that what some people find so funny is the 'bad taste' itself - "He said [something naughty]! Ha, ha, ha! Mommy would swoon!
If you don't like it, I'll say you're clutching your pearls!"

And then there's frequently the question of whether the 'bad taste' is ironic - and whether those laughing, or those disapproving, perceive the irony. That always came up in discussions of Archie Bunker, "All in the Family".