Is there another way that your answer should be interpreted?

Yes; it's an analogy.

I don't know how many other people have their names in the CREDITs file. Dozens for sure. Hundreds perhaps. I'd be happy to be in the company of all those wonderful people, but I don't like how this project turned out, I don't endorse it, and I don't care to be associated with the end product.

Analogies are never perfect.

According to my dictionary...

You shouldn't need to refer to a dictionary to determine if your behavior is kind.