Having been near the epicenter of it, this was more than just a "skeuomorphism was in" thing. It was a complete aesthetic and functional nightmare at the time. Apple employees, customers, developers, and press were horrified.
https://www.salon.com/1999/09/30/quicktime/
That being said, I understand that sometimes one needs to push boundaries of taste in order to make advances. I'm just sad that QuickTime Player had to be one of the sacrificial pikes upon which skeuomorphism died.
