Because it's the typical response in media to point out a joke instead of letting it stick. "Oh, that's a [blank] reference!" and similar lines are said because "I saw it on that show I like and the character I like points out jokes!"
Honestly it's been a thing since I could remember (18 years). I don't watch much media either, but when I do, 9/10 times it'll have that stupid "I understand that reference!" joke.
Because it's the typical response in media to point out a joke instead of letting it stick. "Oh, that's a [blank] reference!" and similar lines are said because "I saw it on that show I like and the character I like points out jokes!"
Can you give an estimate to when this started being the case? I am not in touch with modern media content.
Honestly it's been a thing since I could remember (18 years). I don't watch much media either, but when I do, 9/10 times it'll have that stupid "I understand that reference!" joke.