Reality TV star Spencer Pratt announces he's running for L.A. mayor a year after losing his home in the Palisades fire

Reality TV star Spencer Pratt was met with thunderous applause when he unveiled his campaign for mayor of Los Angeles during a Palisades protest on the one-year anniversary of the raging fire.

 While Pratt addressed hundreds at the “They Let Us Burn!” protest held by the Palisades Fire Resident Coalition — marking the one-year anniversary of the Pacific Palisades fire that killed 12 people and burned over 6,500 homes—he got emotional while speaking about what he lost last January.

“On Jan. 7, 2025, [his wife] Heidi [Montag] and I lost our home. We lost every material possession we own. My parents lost their home too and, with it, decades of memories lost inside those walls,” Pratt emotionally told the crowd.

He referred to the day as the “worst day of my life.”

 

Pratt shouted his frustrations over authorities’ handling of the ordeal, earning loud cheers from the crowd when he announced he will be running for mayor in the next election.

“The system in Los Angeles isn’t struggling, it’s fundamentally broken,” Pratt exclaimed to the loud crowd. “It is a machine designed to protect the people at the top and the friends they exchange favors with while the rest of us drown in toxic smoke and ash. 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. And let me be clear, this just isn’t a campaign, this is a mission, and we’re gonna expose the system.”

Pratt’s campaign launch echoes his months-long attacks on Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), whom he blames for the fire’s mishandling. The former reality star has accused the California governor of taking a “let it burn” approach that prioritized bureaucracy over lives. He has repeatedly criticized Newsom for negligence, fraud in state programs, and failing to deploy resources despite warnings—escalating into calls for federal intervention and greater accountability.

 

While Pratt has leaned conservative in the past—openly supporting John McCain’s failed 2008 presidential bid and drawing conservative support for his fire critiques, he frames his mayoral bid as a non-partisan ‘mission’ to dismantle L.A.’s broken system, emphasizing systemic issues over strict party lines.

Pratt rose to stardom in 2007 when he began dating Heidi Montag, a prominent cast member on “The Hills.” The two married the following year and have two children together: 8-year-old Gunner Pratt and 3-year-old Ryker Pratt.

“They intentionally let us burn before, during and after,” Montag told The New York Post. “There was no accountability. It was gross negligence. They let this happen. It wasn’t a natural disaster or something that was unavoidable. It was their fault, and we need the accountability we deserve.”

 

Pratt and Montag also appeared on shows including “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” and the British version of “Celebrity Big Brother.”