I think WotC is struggling with changing society and trying to figure out where everything fits.
When I grew up, orcs were evil, plain and simple. As a teen in the early 80's, I did not know enough of the world to think an orc could have any real-world equivalent or that someone could construe such a creature to be an analog for any real entity. Same with drow, elves, dwarves, etc.
Now, that's not our social awareness. Real and damaging analogies have been tied to these fantasy races.
But, D&D is still mostly a game about good heroes fighting evil creatures. At it's core it does not have, or frequently thrive very well, in a complex moral or ethical setting where the party should explore each NPC they cross paths with to determine how one should relate to them. (friend, adversary, kill...).
For many, their is still the desire to set aside the complications of the real world, and just role play some fantasy where one can do heroic and bold things, save the town/kingdom/world from evil, and not be troubled by nuance.
And WotC is struggling to maintain such, while recognizing that real-world bigotry represented in their fantasy fiction is harmful to real-world people. It is not a challenge I envy.