Contrary to popular belief, longtime HGTV stars Erin and Ben Napier can’t actually save the world — despite many of their fans hoping they will.
The couple’s list of talents and achievements seems never-ending, from inspiring small town transformations across North America to launching a movement to raise children without access to social media. But on August 16, 2025, Erin inadvertently ruffled some feathers with an “inconsequential” Instagram post about her and Ben’s date night.
Noting that they had “had dinner and a good state of the union,” Erin received lots of pushback from followers who thought she meant they’d been happily discussing how America is doing, rather than the state of their union as a couple — a popular strategy developed by The Gottman Institute for married couples to discuss their relationship weekly.
Erin told one fan that anyone who misunderstood her post should “unfollow me immediately.” And when another fan insinuated that Erin and Ben were not doing enough to influence positive change in the United States, Erin was quick to respond with a hilarious bit of sass, sarcastically vowing to go “fix everything.”
Erin Napier’s Amusing Exchange With Canadian Fan Has Been Deleted
Erin posted a photo on August 16 of Ben on their date night, looking relaxed in a floral shirt at an outdoor dining spot, and she wrote, “grandparents had the girls so we had dinner and a good state of the union. and a little sunburn. also, can non strategic and inconsequential instagram posts make a comeback?”
“Not while your countries on fire,” responded one follower in a since-deleted comment reviewed by EntertainmentNow. “Sticking your head in the sand isn’t going to make it go away and Southerners need to take their share of responsibility for this mess.”
Within minutes, Erin replied to that follower — who signed the comment from a “concerned” Canadian, including the Canadian flag emoji — with a sarcastic quip that’s also since been deleted.
Erin wrote, “yeah you’re so right. ben and i will fix everything, brb”
Why Erin Napier Urged Other Fans to Unfollow Her on Instagram
HGTVAlthough Erin had been trying to inspire others to share “inconsequential” posts about everyday life, her August 16 post appeared highly consequential to some of her 1.5 million Instagram followers who assumed her “state of the union” comment was politically motivated. Erin not only denied this in her comment section, but urged those who misunderstood her to unfollow her.
On August 17, one fan wrote, “My hope is you worded your post this way so unhinged people would comment 😂 …. Lovely couple!!! ❤️”
Erin, who has since limited her comments on the post, replied, “anyone who thinks this post has a thing to do with politics needs to unfollow me immediately 😄 seriously though.”
Among the people who were confused by or unhappy with Erin’s post, one commented, “Stop… a good state of the union?????”
Another wrote, “when you are white and not an immigrant or a person of color you get to have the privilege of inconsequential posts.”
Someone else chimed in, “Not under the current regime. That life style is now gone for those of us who care about democracy and freedom”
Erin Napier Had Plenty of Support on Her Instagram Post, Too
Not everyone was upset or confused by Erin’s post. It received over 48,000 likes within 24 hours and her comment section had plenty of supportive comments from fans who agreed with her wish for more posts about everyday life.
“I’d love it if IG went back to ‘here’s a piece of my day’ type posts,” one fan wrote. “Enjoy, and thanks for sharing :)”
Someone else commented, “Just 😍 the beauty of every day life. Sometimes it’s okay just to breathe and appreciate your life too 💞”
Another fan chimed in, “Yes and yes!!! Puppies and casual date nights and “uncurated” life please! Back to when social media was fun…end “doom scrolling” one inconsequential post at a time!”
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Erin Napier Urges Confused Instagram Fans to ‘Unfollow Me Immediately’ After Sweet Date Night Post