Signs Home Town Stars Ben & Erin Napier's Reputation With HGTV Fans Has Soured

"Home Town" stars Ben Napier and Erin Napier had long been the darlings of home renovation fans, but cracks started to show in the foundation of their fandom. In February 2022, Erin was at her wit's end with fans responding with "extra rudeness," and in a spirited Instagram Stories post she encouraged the haters to "go ahead and unfollow" her (via People). The following year, the anti-Napier movement continued. "Am I the only non-fan of Ben and Erin?" a Redditor titled a post in March 2023. In fact, there have been plenty of times "Home Town" viewers shaded Ben and Erin.

The couple came under fire for renovations they did on a house in an episode that aired in March 2024. When HGTV posted a clip of the before and after of the property on X, formerly Twitter, a fan voiced their displeasure with the finished product, and specifically bashed the awning. That continued when Erin posted snaps of the home to her Instagram page. "The awning looks cheap and it would look better [if] it was just left off!" a follower wrote.

Erin and Ben did not take the blowback in stride and responded to fans who left unkind reviews of the renovated property. "I'm afraid that a lot of the people out there are being rude and being mean because they want to be hurtful," Ben said in a joint video posted to Erin's Instagram in April. Fans not only took issue with the renos, but pointed out strange things about Ben and Erin's marriage.

Not only do Ben and Erin Napier give "Home Town" fans a glimpse inside their marriage on their reality show, but they are constantly posting photos together on social media. After responding to the critical comments from fans about their renovation choices, Erin posted a spicy snap of her husband cooling off outdoors using a sprinkler to Instagram in April. While Ben sported a small swimsuit, at first glance several Instagram users believed the "Home Town: Ben's Workshop" star was in the buff. "I wasn't expecting a naked Ben in my feed!" one follower replied. "I may have scrolled through the photos several times to verify Ben was NOT nude," another fan commented.

Through the years, the majority of comments about the Napiers had been positive, but some viewers were bothered by their on-screen behavior. In July 2017, Erin posted a snap of her husband to Instagram and included a lengthy caption detailing an email she received from a distressed fan who did not care for the way Ben was constantly making body contact with her while filming. "It makes her sick because it reminds her of men who treat women like objects," Erin wrote. That viewer was not alone. "It's really getting weird to see him putting his hand on her shoulder every time the two of them are alone on camera," an Instagram follower commented.

That was not the only aspect of Ben and Erin's family life that fans took issue with.

Ben Napier and Erin Napier made the decision to not show their children's faces on social media, and that became a topic of contention with fans. Erin addressed trolls in an Instagram post after several users bashed how her daughter's hair was braided. "There were cruel comments within moments," she wrote in the lengthy caption of the December 2020 post, while mentioning that she quickly deleted the snap, and used this as an example of why the Napiers did not post the faces of their kids.

The following month, in January 2021, Erin came under fire when she uploaded an Instagram photo of her and Ben reading a book to their daughter — whose face was obscured by the book. One fan pointed out that the "Home Town" stars were hypocritical since they already showed their daughters on camera for the show. "A fleeting glance on the show in 2 eps a season is very different and less useful to a predator than a library of static images of her face sitting in my IG account," Erin replied on Instagram (via Cinema Blend).

The discussion of the Napiers keeping their kids off of social media raged on a couple years later. Erin posted an Instagram video in May 2023 explaining how she and Ben were prohibiting their kids from using social media until they finished high school. This led to the HGTV star debating with fans. One accused Erin of being "very defensive on this topic" (via People).