I don’t think the free tier patron thing was his idea or even his choice, it was a patron wide thing
Patreon as a platform and concept is in decline - their valuation dropped something like 70% and that doesn't happen if you have a solid business. The era of free money sloshing around and people being given money for dubious "creativity" is over.
They are trying to artificially inflate (and retain) their user counts.
So a combination of a lazy creator who regularly fails to deliver the promised "perks", who has driven a lot of supporters away with his abusive behavior, using a platform that itself is in decline?
I means it's time to get a real job Lloydy boy!