I believe this is exactly why it was done. Heck I went and rechecked my rules for about 10 different things after watching their routines to see what I personally may have misunderstood. If things I though were illegal were actually legal then I can completely change the way I am approaching things. Whether they choose to be or not they are a program a lot of other programs aspire to be and look to as being role models. If they do things that are illegal smaller programs will think those skills are legal and emulate them. Les was probably saving himself a LOT of trouble later.
You can see it now: a team goes and competes the RO HS Rewind (braced or unbraced its illegal) and then gets hit with an illegality. Team is devastated. Coach is crestfallen. The argument was made they saw CEA do it. Though CEA never competed it and technically did nothing wrong, their example was broadcast across the internet and many people (coaches, athletes, gyms, parents) would miss the context of the performance.
While I gotta give it to CEA for putting on a show and allowing it to be broadcasted (and giving out music and so forth) it does put them under a microscope and brings with it certain responsibilities.