The devs are very aware of the opinions on Wuk lamat by every region. They know the fandom, they see what characters are popular and which aren't.
It says a lot when DT released and none of the JP nor EN/EU circles I frequent in gives a single flying fuck about Wuk lamat. Everyone is still creating content and fanworks for characters from the previous expansions. If a character completely flops to the point they don't get as many fanworks as a character that appeared for 5 minutes in a raid then well, it probably speaks volumes to how well liked she is.

What I don't understand is the decision to double down when the entire issue surrounding her is how much screentime she takes up. And that really is just the tip of the iceberg, the article doesn't seem to mention how lackluster the overall story in DT was and how even more Wuk Lamat yapping about friendship to the Alexandrians in the next patch is not going to fix the borderline issue the story had to begin with.
I can't imagine anyone having emotional attachment to the characters in DT. There is no reason why any of us should care about these people besides basic compassion for having a cat usurp their queen, while simultaneously installing a puppet king into their government. If the devs took the political implication of that serious it would at least make for a compelling narrative, but we all know the most we get out of this is more unrealistic and shallow "friendship and family fixes everything."