Former reality TV fixture Spencer Pratt is officially stepping into the political arena.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the Hills alum announced on Wednesday that he is running for mayor of Los Angeles, marking a pivot into politics one year after wildfires tore through Pacific Palisades and destroyed his family’s home.
Pratt revealed his plans while speaking at a “They Let Us Burn” rally organized by the Palisades Fire Residents Coalition, held on the anniversary of the devastating Palisades Fire. The blaze, which erupted on January 7, 2025, burned more than 23,700 acres, killed 12 people, and destroyed upwards of 6,800 structures, making it one of the most destructive wildfires in California history.
“Business as usual is a death sentence for Los Angeles, and I’m done waiting for someone to take real action,” Pratt told the crowd. “That’s why I am running for mayor.”
He added that his campaign would focus on exposing what he sees as systemic failures in city leadership, saying, “This just isn’t a campaign — this is a mission.”
In the year since the fire, Pratt has been outspoken in his criticism of state and city officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and current Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, accusing authorities of being unprepared despite forecasts warning of dangerous Santa Ana winds.
Pratt rose to fame in the mid-2000s as one of reality TV’s most polarizing figures on MTV’s The Hills, where his relationship with castmate Heidi Montag became tabloid fuel. The couple married in 2008 and share two children, later appearing on shows including I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here and Celebrity Big Brother UK.
In recent months, Pratt has revisited his public persona through his memoir, The Guy You Loved to Hate, which reframes his reality-TV villain era as part spectacle, part survival strategy. The book traces his rise, personal collapse, and gradual reemergence — a process that accelerated after the wildfire, when social media users rallied around his family as they documented the loss in real time.
The mayoral race is already crowded. Current mayor Bass is seeking reelection, while former LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner and more than a dozen others are also running. The primary election is scheduled for June 2, with candidate filing set to open February 2 and close February 7.