If they’re “just being honest” but only ever honest in one direction, that’s not honesty. That’s aim.

Honesty is a habit rather than a license, and it shows up in praise and in admissions as much as in criticism. Somebody whose candor only ever runs downhill toward your faults is not committed to the truth; they are committed to the effect. The label is doing work the behavior does not support.

Watch, over a few weeks, whether this person ever volunteers something good or admits something about themselves. If the direction never varies, you can stop treating their verdicts as feedback. Take the point if there is one, and leave the framing with them.