That viral 'apology' video made me cancel a business deal

Last month a local contractor friend of mine got caught using a photo of someone else's finished deck in his ads. Instead of just owning it quietly, he posted a 4 minute crying video on Facebook and blamed a 'social media manager' he never had. The comments blew up with sympathy and the original homeowner got harassed for calling him out. I'd already signed a materials order with this guy for a fence job at a church in Akron, $2,400 worth. I backed out after seeing the video because the deflection bothered me more than the original lie. Does anyone else factor in how someone handles the mess versus the mess itself when deciding to cut ties?