'Home Town' Stars Erin and Ben Napier Speak Out About "Really Ugly" Fan Comments
Erin and Ben Napier, stars of HGTV's Home Town, are busy filming season 3 of Home Town Takeover in Sebring, Florida. But recently they took time out to address an important topic: Rude fan comments on social media, especially those insulting people’s homes.
“We need to talk about something,” Erin told her fans in an Instagram Reel posted on April 2. “The comments on my Instagram have been really not nice. Really rude, some of you guys. Y’all realize we design these houses for people who really live in them, and they really read your comments. You’re not hurting my feelings at all, but you are being really ugly to the people who are living in these houses. And, if you can't think of something nice to say about these people’s homes…”
“Don’t say anything at all,” Ben chimed in.
Erin continued: “You’re not gonna hurt my feelings, but you are gonna hurt someone’s feelings who lives in that house. You know better, guys. Do better. … Be sweet. Like I tell my little girls, y’all can be grown-ups and be sweet.”
Ben added his thoughts on the matter. “Okay, here’s the thing. I’m afraid that a lot of the people out there are being rude and being mean because they want to be hurtful, and that’s the saddest thing about social media,” he said.
The two made clear that’s not the kind of following they want: “If you’re one of those people who are on social media, unfollow me now. Thank you,” Erin said, to which Ben added, “We can do that for you.”
Erin ended the video by wishing viewers a great day and thanking those who had left kind comments. “Keep on being you. You’re awesome,” she said. Ben followed that up with an invitation: “I hope you come and visit Laurel [the Mississippi town where Home Town is set], or you come and visit Sebring. Both. This town is awesome. We’re doing great work here.”
The video follows a post on March 18, where Erin explained a design decision some fans were unhappy about. However, in the more recent video post, Erin neither references a specific project nor elaborates on reasons for specific design choices. Instead, she simply takes a firm stand against mean comments. "As my mama would say, y’all act like you’ve got some raising ❤️," she captioned her post.
The fan response to Erin’s line in the sand was overwhelmingly positive:
“Bravo! Glad you called them out. 👏👏❤ I’m tired of the rudeness,” said one, while another praised Erin for walking the talk: “Boy, you said that MUCH nicer than I would have! Leading by example 😊.”
Did Erin just start a movement to make the internet a nicer place? Maybe, because the comments kept coming:
“Agree! Nice people unite! It appears to be easy to be nasty when you are hiding behind the screen.”
“Keeping your mouth shut (or typing thumbs still) is an art some people need to practice a little more diligently!”
“Good for you calling the nonsense out! Rude comments are uncalled for.” That comment alone got over 4,000 likes.
“We love y’all. We live in Wetumpka [the setting for Home Town Takeover season 1] and what yall did for our little town was wonderful. People hide behind keyboards and are just bullies sometimes. Keep doing great work.”
Among those cheering Erin on was actor/comedian Matt Marr, who wrote: “My Mama once told me, ‘If you walk into a house and all they have to show for is a rusted tin can, you let them know you love that tin can as much as they do.’ (But also I do love everything you do!) But yeah, I think Mama is still right.”
“A-to-the-Men! You got that right,” replied another. We agree wholeheartedly.
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