My take is this. It's social media.
See, back in the day, if you didn't like a comedian's joke, what could you do? They don't do refunds. Heckle them? Try to figure out who their manager is and write a letter?
Now? You have easy access to a dozen or so ways to let them know what you think of their work. And also their business partners! And they haven't the spine for it.
They were insulated from the public, and now they're not.
Comedy changes, they know that. We don't exactly tell knock knock jokes these days. They just can't keep up. They have a shtick and they wanna keep using it, even if it's run it's course - like all things entertainment do.
Mrfunkedude