How Much Grace Should We Extend to Public Figures?

Joe rogan came under an enormous amount of fire for hosting a debate about the covid vaccine. He said he was fine with his critics, and that he wanted to learn from them. David Letterman says we have a grace deficit in American public life right now. We should want a society where contrition meets forgiveness,. Yet we're constantly pushing towards a graceless society which treats apologies purely as confession - grounds for further punishment.