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One feature attributed to moral disgust is the sensation that immorality is physically contaminating, as shown by experiments in which participants are unwilling to contact immoral objects like a Nazi officer’s hat. We propose that a different concern drives the apparent contagiousness of immorality: associating visibly with immoral stimuli risks reputation damage because observers will infer immorality by association. Hypothetical (Study 1) and behavioral (Study 2) evidence supported this account. Forced to choose, participants preferred to wear a Nazi armband under rather than over their clothing, even though this meant direct skin contact. The “under” preference was stronger with an audience. Despite reporting strong disgust towards the armband, participant reported little contamination concern but strong reputation concern. Changing perspective, targets who touched but concealed the armband were not seen as contaminated or immoral (Study 3). Contrary to previous conceptions, moral disgust may not involve intuitions of physical contamination.