let's put it this way: Linus credited GNU in early announcements of Linux, saying a kernel alone gets you nowhere. Yggdrasil Linux/GNU/X11 was one of the earliest commercial distros. Debian GNU/Linux was founded in response to a call for volunteers shortly thereafter, and it was supported by the FSF for years.
credit was given early on and, when not given, requested and justified since early on. any claims of the opposite are misrepresentations at best (and alas often lies). hostility in response to the requests was also high from early on. they and we knew that it would be bad for our movement for user freedom if users didn't realize the system they were using had been made for their freedom. credit is hardly the issue. it has been quite a battle for minds all these years. if you support and enjoy user freedom, I hope you will understand the importance of promoting the only system developed specifically for this cause, rather than only the kernel that is not even freedom-respecting, but that is often misrepresented as such. thanks,