Frankly, I would prefer to think that it had to do with their own sense of decency and propriety but that's probably hoping for way too much. In the absence of any standards of their own, they were probably persuaded by the potential effects on their finances.
Way to Go Freepers! How can we get the tape out? Does anyone have it?
Well, we'll still take the win. It has the added side benefit of denying Whoopie any residuals on future play of the commercial.