People would say the same thing about Glass or Reich. People would say the same thing about Messiaen or Ligeti. People would say the same thing about Schoenberg or Webern.

If your expectation of good food is In-N-Out Burger, you might think praise of a three star Michelin restaurant is performative too.

I am not even much a fan of Richard but he is absolutely one of the greatest musical geniuses of the past 50 years bar none.

Avril 14th is my favorite. Clearly Satie influenced but maybe even a little sweeter than Satie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxTdTaNIUxo

Also consider Satie himself is exactly the type of musician people would have said praising is performative at the time. He wasn't taken seriously as a real musician much at all in his life.