In my view the diversion was a serious matter and as such I'll leave it to the airline to decide if it was in their best interest,
With the latest post of a blanket and pillow set for sale in a published on-board catalog, then I side with the airline insisting that it was not free.
The rest of the story is not equally visible as to who said what to whom and I will be willing to guess if the thread gets moved to JetBlast
meanwhile just the story of this getting out hurts the airline as much as the diversion.