RT Audince Score is pretty high. What gives?

Audiences more forgiving after TLJ. Many like the prequels too.

Oftentimes audience score and critics score come out quite different.

It's the all new "verified rating" system. The IMDB score is at 6.9, which is crazily low for the opening Friday. It is already lower than LTJ and equal with Solo. Currently the worst rated Starwars film of all time is the Phantom Menace at 6.5, and that film is 20 years old. Bear in mind that the rating of almost every film on IMDB goes down over time. This will be the lowest rated ever, it's just a question of how long it takes to get there.

I'd hazard a guess the only fans left writing reviews are the "true believers" and that's why it's higher. Everyone who hated TLJ and brought its score down, left.

Or this "verified rating" system may be a factor. I hadn't heard of it; I guess RT went full "blue checkmark".