Senator Lindsey Graham today responded to comedienne Chelsea Handler's controversial tweet questioning his sexual orientation by saying in no uncertain terms that he is not gay.

Handler sparked outrage on Thursday after sending out a tweet that read: 'If you’re wondering why Republicans took a sick day today, it’s probably because it’s #NationalComingOutDay. Looking at you @LindseyGrahamSC,' Handler tweeted on Thursday.

TMZ on Friday interviewed Graham, a conservative Republican from South Carolina, at Regan National Airport in Washington DC about his reaction to the firestorm swirling around Handler's comment.

'I'm not gay': Senator Lindsey Graham, 63 (left), on Friday responded to Chelsea Handler's (right) Thursday tweet questioning his sexual orientation by saying he is not gay

Under fire: This tweet sent by Chelsea Handler to her 8.41million followers on Thursday had many of her critics seeing red

‘I don’t think much about what she says at all,’ Graham said as he made his way through the terminal with a soft drink in hand. ‘She wants to live her life that way, it's up to her.’

He went on: ‘number one, she knows zero about me. To the extent that it matters, I'm not gay. And these comments...I don’t think they reflect well on her and I don’t know how it makes us a better country, but it's up to her, not me.’

When asked if he thought it was a low bar for comics to be making 'gay jokes,' Graham replied that ‘belittling people is not as funny as it used to be, and that's a good thing.’

Handler's tweet was deemed homophobic by many commenters.

The message suggesting that Senator Graham was secretly gay has been retweeted nearly 2,400 times and has drawn 2,500 comments, most of them negative.

'Why is there such a gulf in understanding this fact: being gay is not something to shame or embarrass someone with,' one critic tweeted. 'It's staggering that, at this point, people who appear to be our community's allies still don't get it.'

Another wrote: 'Total B.S. I’m a PROUD Republican & 100% support LGBTQ as do many of my Republican friends. I also know many LGBTQ friends that are themselves Republican.'

A third Twitter user chimed in: 'at what point are you going to learn that coming out isn't a joke made about people, even if they're evil. Is it today? I hope it's today.'

Others accused Handler, who has longed billed herself as a staunch supporter of LGBTQ rights, of equating villainy with being gay.

One critic pointed out that Handler's joke was lacking in logic: 'forgetting she's awful for a sec, does this even make any sense? Is he [Graham] calling in sick so he can come out at home? Does the holiday compel him to come out so he's hiding?'

A few of Handler's 8.41million followers defended the comedienne's quip, with one writing: 'I'm surprised that so many people misunderstand this tweet. @LindseyGrahamSC has consistently voted against LGBTQ rights while being a very closeted homosexual. This is the hypocrisy that the joke points out.'

Another argued that the 63-year-old GOP hardliner 'should be dragged' and urged others to 'stop defending the indefensible.'

As of Friday morning, Handler has not publicly responded to the controversy stirred up by her tweet, nor has she deleted said tweet, despite numerous posts and memes urging her to do so.

In January, Handler wrote this foul-mouth tweet suggesting that the 63-year-old Graham was secretly gay

This is not the first time that a pointed tweet raising questions about Graham's sexual orientation has landed the 43-year-old TV host in hot water.

In January, Handler wrote: 'holy, f***, Holy f***. I just [watched] the video of trumps bipartisan 'meeting' yesterday. Hey, @LindsayGraham, what kind of d*** sucking video do they have on you for you 2 be acting like this? Wouldn’t coming out be more honorable?'

Handler is currently working on a new documentary for Netflix delving into the subject of white privilege.