I recall Hubble often being fodder for late night hosts and other media, but we don't even think about it now that it's proved it's worth many times over. It changed the narrative once it was operational.
It's a fair question, and I'm not educated on the subject enough to provide an opinion. Like I said, I'd just heard about this, so I'm not aware how much has gone into it. If it's hitting the figures you're talking about, I would question it as well.