Although he may not be leading in the polls, it’s clear that Spencer Pratt is winning the media war in the race to become LA’s next mayor. And if the former reality star makes it into the mayoral run-off following the June 2 primary, the release of his “They Not Like Us” campaign ad will be remembered as the fulcrum moment.
The 60-second ad — which jumps between a Los Angeles resembling Todd Phillips’ version of Gotham City and the tidy home fronts of his opponents Karen Bass and Nithya Raman — was pulled off with minimal resources and directed by Gabriel Mann, who was behind the wildfires documentary “Hotshot.” “It cost zero dollars,” Pratt tells Page Six Hollywood. “It took like 15 minutes minus drive time.”
The timing of the ad was impeccable, coming just days after it was reported that Pratt had outpaced both incumbent Bass and city council-member Raman in fundraising since January. Pratt is drafting off the momentum.
“The ad is brilliant and powerful because it shows how real and personal this campaign is for Spencer Pratt,” says Meghan McCain, a former host of “The View,” who is hosting a live podcast of her “Citizen McCain” on Friday with Pratt as a featured guest. Like many outside of LA, McCain couldn’t help but notice his mastery of the social media medium, including his “Not Like Us” ad. “He’s been personally devastated and refuses to watch the city he loves keep falling apart.”
Over the past four-plus months the question on the minds of LA and Hollywood’s political class is how seriously should they take Pratt’s candidacy? For anyone whose home burned down during the catastrophic wildfires of 2025 that decimated Pacific Palisades, swaths of Malibu and more, the answer is a (quiet) yes. Privately, many of the town’s denizens are rooting for the one-time villain of “The Hills” to topple Bass and stave off the progressive upstart Raman.
Lakers minority owner Jeanie Buss donated the maximum $1,800 to Pratt’s campaign, according to public records. One Hollywood veteran affected by the disaster says he’s never voted for a Republican before, but became a believer after Palisades native Pratt built a campaign intent on holding Bass accountable for the deadly blazes.
“No one else was asking questions,” says the showbiz veteran. “I was skeptical at first, but he is absolutely genuine and committed to getting justice.”
Pratt’s surge hits just as certain members of an industry that has long been considered as blue as you can get are now willing to publicly trash his opponents.
Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily.
“Entourage” creator Doug Ellin is particularly incensed by Raman, who has garnered the support of some high-profile talent like Natalie Portman and Mindy Kaling. Raman also held a fundraiser on Friday at the Hancock Park home of “Pod Save America” co-host Jon Favreau.
“More of my friends have left LA in the last few years than in the previous 30 combined. So whatever Raman’s camp is saying about ‘no exodus’ is absurd,” says Ellin, who lives in Beverly Hills where he’s noticed a spike in homelessness and crime. “Five years ago, I literally never locked my doors. Now I have 15 cameras monitoring 24/7, a legal gun — which I hate, German shepherds, and a neighborhood chat that’s going off constantly. My homeowner’s insurance has quadrupled. I know it’s bad nationally, but after they let the city burn down, it’s a different level here.”
Ellin says he’s tempted every day to leave the metropolis that birthed his HBO hit series, but says his school-aged children make the prospect difficult.
Bass and Raman went head-to-head in a debate on Tuesday night, described by the LA Times as a “freewheeling 90-minute slugfest,” as hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. Tonight, KNBC4 hosts a televised debate with Bass, Raman and Pratt, too, at the Skirball Cultural Center.One studio executive who lives in Raman’s district called P6H to lament the state of at least one industry landmark.
“I always have to take Cahuenga Pass [to work]. For a year I have been begging the city council office to pick up all of the garbage alongside the access road. It is so disgusting. I finally went myself and picked up 19 bags of trash with gloves and tongs, and it still looks disgusting,” the executive says. “Meanwhile Nithya calls the Hollywood Bowl ‘the crown jewel of Hollywood,’ and it’s so embarrassing to leave it after a concert.”
On Tuesday night, Raman said that if she’s elected, she’ll cut street homelessness in half by the 2028 Olympics, including the removal of every encampment from the city by the end of a four-year term.
