In his defense, the Richard Hammond bit was Lee's attempt to turn Top Gear's callous 'it's just a joke' banter back on itself to 'see how they like it' as it were. He even breaks character at the end to explain this:





However I can't blame you for reaching that conclusion, as he often uses this 'character' disclaimer as a way of saying outrageous, risque things but always with the get-out clause that it's not his actual opinion, but something his onstage persona said. I find it a bit cowardly sometimes, though admittedly the extreme statements make for good comedy, and can be quite cathartic.

cheers,
I