Reality TV Star Whose Home Burned in Palisades Fire Announces Run for LA Mayor: ‘We Are Going to Expose the System’
Former reality-TV star Spencer Pratt has announced he is running for mayor of Los Angeles, declaring the campaign “a mission” to expose what he calls systemic mismanagement. Pratt made the announcement at a rally called “They Let Us Burn,” marking the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fire that destroyed his home; the viral video of his announcement has circulated on social media. He sharply criticized government leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass, and signaled public safety and disaster preparedness will be central themes of his bid. Pratt, 42, rose to fame on MTV’s The Hills as a deliberately provocative antagonist and, with his wife Heidi Montag, became a polarizing celebrity pair known as “Speidi.” Now he’s shifting that notoriety toward a political campaign in Los Angeles.
In a state that had two movie stars-turned-governors, perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that a polarizing reality television star is now vying for mayor in its most populous city.
According to Los Angeles NBC station KNBC-TV, one of the former stars of “The Hills,” Spencer Pratt has officially thrown his hat in the ring to be Los Angeles’ new mayor.
“Business as usual is a death sentence for Los Angeles, and I’m done waiting for someone to take real action. That’s why I am running for mayor,” Pratt said. “But let me be clear, this just isn’t a campaign — this is a mission, and we are going to expose the system.
“We are going into every dark corner of L.A. politics and disinfecting the city with our light.”
Naturally, he added: “LA is going to be camera-ready again.”
Video of the announcement went viral on social media:
BREAKING: @spencerpratt announces candidacy for LA Mayor.
“This is not just a campaign. This is a mission. And we are going to expose the system!”
IT’S SHOWTIME https://t.co/ekabpCxId6 pic.twitter.com/1rKHjquejy
— Mann Made Cinema (@Hotshot_Movie) January 7, 2026
The 42-year-old Pratt made his announcement Wednesday at a rally dubbed “They Let Us Burn.”
The rally was held by the Palisades Fire Residents Coalition and marked the one-year anniversary of the destructive Palisades Fire that razed a community that is still miffed with the government response to it. Pratt’s home was within that community and destroyed by the blaze, as Newsweek reported.
And Pratt is as miffed as anybody when it comes to how the government handled that disaster.
Pratt has been outspoken about what he sees as mismanagement in the wake of the wildfire that erupted on Jan. 7, 2025, in a community tucked between the Santa Monica Mountains and the Los Angeles County coastline.
Much of Pratt’s criticism has been directed at Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass, whom he has blamed for the response to the blaze.
His campaign announcement leans heavily on this critique, signaling that public safety and disaster preparedness will likely be central themes of his mayoral bid.
While Pratt is now making a name for himself in the political world, it was nearly two decades ago that Pratt and his now-wife — and fellow reality television star — Heidi Montag first burst into the public.
“The Hills,” a reality series drama focused on the lives of an affluent group of friends in Southern California, ran from 2006 to 2010 on MTV. And it didn’t take long for Pratt to become a lightning rod of a figure.
On “The Hills,” Pratt was deliberately cast as the show’s chief antagonist — volatile, calculating, and confrontational by design. His on-screen persona leaned heavily into conflict, most notably through repeated clashes with the show’s star Lauren Conrad.
He’d also fuel tension within his and Conrad’s relationship with Montag, generally in service of heightened drama. He and Montag married in 2009.
On the show, Pratt openly leaned into the notoriety, embracing the “bad boy” label.
By branding himself and Montag as “Speidi” (combining “Spencer” and “Heidi,” a la the “Bennifer” of actor Ben Affleck and singer Jennifer Lopez), he helped turn their relationship into a polarizing spectacle, cementing his status as one of reality television’s most infamous and divisive figures.
In fact, in 2015, Yahoo TV put him on its list of “Greatest Reality TV Personalities of All Time: Villains.”
Since “The Hills” ended, Pratt has largely leaned into his celebrity status in various other shows, and also hosted a podcast.
Now? He looks to be entering arguably the most dramatic arena there is: Politics.
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