I think that, vocal complainers aside, he’s still overall fairly popular. A popular white man saying wise stuff is a great opportunity to signal how committed you are to science without having to put actually significant amounts of money on the line or entering the minefield that is angering the anti-“woke” crowd. He’s a safe investment in public appearances.

Doesn’t mean they’ll have to listen to him. He gets a more sombre version of the Jester’s Privilege that allows him to say whatever he wants, they’ll nod and applaud and perform all the gestures of approval, but they won’t actually change anything.

The other half of it is probably the Internet Outrage culture that sees inciting content get more engagement and boosted visibility in a self-perpetuating cycle of upset. Legitimate criticism drowns in a sea of bullshit, everyone’s pissed off and we’re all easily swept up in the current of emotion. If we’re not mad at one person, we’re mad at the people pointlessly or excessively mad at them. If we try to stem against that, we’re dogpiled by loud complainers while quiet agreement leaves an upvote and moves on.