Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
SPENCER PRATT WANTS to be Los Angeles’s next mayor, and he’s running a divisive campaign to get there.
The reality star has been using AI-generated videos and negative campaigning to grab attention and set himself apart from incumbent Karen Bass, who has held the position since 2022, as well as 15 other declared candidates.
Pratt is also using his own experience to connect with Angelenos (LA residents).
He and his wife Heidi Montag lost their home in the California wildfires last year and this January filed a lawsuit suing the state for actions they argue led to the damage. More than 20 other homes in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood were affected by the alleged failings.
The couple said, after the fire, they’ve been living in a caravan on their property. TMZ subsequently reported that they were instead staying at the Hotel Bel-Air.
Pratt and Montag rose to stardom on The Hills, a 2006 spin-off of Laguna Beach, and they’ve dipped in and out of fame since.
Pratt’s list of supporters is diverse: Paris Hilton, former US ambassador Nicole Avant, LA Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, and billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, as well as founders of companies like Tinder and Ring.
However, some voters say Pratt is unqualified or fame hungry.
Pratt’s sister Stephanie has urged people not to vote for him, saying it would be a “vote for stupidity”.
In a series of posts on X, she made a number of serious allegations against her brother.
Pratt prompted delight and outrage when he released provocative AI-generated campaign videos.
One shows Pratt dressed as Batman coming to save the city from opponent Bass, who is dressed as the Joker.
Another shows Bass walking in front of tents, saying: “I’ve addressed the homeless problem. Now most of them won’t stab you as long as you don’t make eye contact.”
A third shows a man walking around LA after waking up from a three-year coma spanning what would be Pratt’s term. “Where are all the needles and homeless people?”, he asks. “The mayor fixed it,” his family tell him.
In another video, which is also AI-generated, drug dealers are heard complaining that Pratt will ‘put them out of a job’.
There are many positive comments on the videos, which were posted to TikTok.
“I’m obsessed with this campaign,” one reads.
Another commenter said: “Whoever runs his campaign ads is genius.”
The use of AI in political campaigning has become more common. California governor Gavin Newsom released a video last year showing Donald Trump in handcuffs. Trump today posted a video showing himself with an AI-generated alien.
LA is a Democrat stronghold. Its mayoral races are non-partisan, but Pratt is a registered Republican. He says, however, he doesn’t represent a party. He told the Hollywood Reporter that he identifies as a “community advocate”.
Pratt appears to be gaining momentum. An opinion poll from the start of the month had Bass on 35%, Pratt on 23% and city council member Nithya Raman on 23% too.
Voters go to the polls on 2 June.
In the mayoral race, a candidate must get more than 50% of the vote to be elected. If no candidate succeeds, a run-off election will take place in November.
Home to Hollywood, celebrity candidates are not uncommon in California politics.
Arnold Schwarzenegger served as governor of California from 2003 to 2011.
Clint Eastwood, the legendary Western icon, served a term as mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, a small coastal California town, in the 1980s.
Actor Gary Coleman, who starred in the 80s sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, unsuccessfully contested the 2003 recall election to unseat Governor Gray Davis.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say