To be fair, (to be fairrrr), that was actually mainstream rather than edgelord in 2002. It was completely normal for straight bro friends to call each other the word as a gag even if they'd be horrified at using it as a slur against a gay person.
Yeah, there was that whole South Park episode where they argue that the slur should be repurposed to refer to people who ride motorcycles too loud and turn left on red, but unfortunately that's just not how slurs work.