Maybe we were reading different discussions, but most of the complaints I saw were from people who were fully aware of Starfire’s history, but did not like the switch from “defined character who is also hot and has sex” to “flying sexbot who might get some characterization sometime in the future, but has mainly been introduced as being hot and having sex.” That includes the original article that touched this all off.
And yes, everyone knows it’s a relaunch/reboot. That explains the presence of changes. It does not justify bad ones.