I'm not sure the 'there's no such thing as bad publicity' works when you're aiming to come across as a voice of reason in the software community.
I think the discussion could have been nipped in the bud if it was described similarly to your summation - a necessary business decision rather than good software practice.
A bad rewrite could have killed the company. Historically, rewrites do not have a good delivery record.
A sideways sort-of-DIY ever-expanding transpiler-or-whatever kept the project alive and profitable.
Sometimes an ugly hack is the right answer if it keeps the money coming in.
Also, valuable PR.