Spencer Pratt goes viral as AI superhero for L.A. Will it gain votes?
Political attack ads abound ahead of the June 2 statewide direct primary elections; competing candidates are finding new, creative ways to tear each other down over their records on immigration, corruption, or making money from the fossil fuel industry. Let’s look at tonight’s mayoral debate.
But it’s a campaign video We’re supporting mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, who is taking the opposition to new heights, or perhaps even new lows.
Pratt is the latest in a long line of former reality TV personalities to run for political office on conservative platforms despite having little or no experience in the field. Despite his lack of knowledge in governance, Pratt is a master at the art of performance. He made his name as the divisive boyfriend on MTV’s 2000s series “The Hills,” and now he’s enjoying another viral moment with an AI-generated ad that looks more like a Lego Batman feature (or an Iranian propaganda video spoofing the latter) than a dry political attack ad. It has 4.1 million views and climbs.
Created by filmmaker Charles Curran, the video features AI-generated images of incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, California Governor Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and City Councilwoman Nithya Raman as royal figures at a banquet table. Newsom is eating the cake Marie Antoinette style. The bass is built like Joker. Raman is a puppet played with strings.
Troubled citizens in and around Los Angeles are pleading their case before an elite group, from Hugh Jackman kneeling down and asking for permission to rebuild his Pacific Palisades home to a mother raising the alarm about homeless people outside her child’s school. Bass laughs at them. Harris sips vodka from the bottle. Newsom then offers a sentence that ensures the video will never air on television alongside other political ads: “If you were a transgender immigrant, I could give you a free p—.”
Spencer Pratt, second from right, announced he is running for mayor.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Despite or because of the rude and disrespectful language, conservative influencers are raving that the video will be a game changer. Commentator Buck Sexton called it the future of political communication. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush called the ad “perhaps the best political ad of the year.” It doesn’t matter that this isn’t an official campaign ad, or that Pratt didn’t commission the video, just re-released it.
Or that the video says nothing about his policy plans. It cuts through all the election year noise, and that’s what matters. The end justifies the means. Winning is everything. Don’t worry about what happens after the election.
Pratt is depicted in the video as Batman, swooping in to save the day. He was once crowned “Greatest Reality TV Villain” in the 2015 Yahoo! After a fan-voted poll, Pratt finally gets to play the hero. He beats up a uniformed Democratic Socialists of America agent (whose equipment curiously resembles that of an ICE Agent) and then leads a movement of angry Angelenos to pelt the Elites with tomatoes. A song by Calvin Harris plays, the words “LA is worth saving” appear on the screen, and the video ends.
Pratt knows that at least some of Los Angeles voters are fed up and looking for a superhero to clean up the mess. But Los Angeles needs a capable leader, not someone born from comic books. And there’s a big difference between gaining attention with viral videos and presenting a future vision of how to fix Los Angeles.
One has to wonder whether these flashy ads will do more to galvanize his base than to persuade the large number of undecided voters fed up with Bass to join his cause.
The videos created by Pratt’s own campaign are less artistic. In account X, shows mansions and large houses where rivals such as Bass and Raman allegedly resided. “They Don’t Like Us,” he writes, even though Pratt and his wife Heidi Montag’s home was estimated to be worth about $3.8 million before it was destroyed by fire. In the video, he shows an Air Stream trailer in the burned land where he says he lives because he was not allowed to rebuild his home.
Pratt is one of 14 Angelenos eligible to run for mayor, including Bass and Raman.
Pratt, who is registered as a Republican, is running as an independent candidate for mayor in a city where Democrats receive overwhelming votes. It’s a viral video that entertains while saying little or nothing about how it will actually solve the city’s problems, which may appeal to those seeking change through a Batman figure with no apparent plan. Stranger things have happened (please see Washington DC circa 2026).
Tonight’s mayoral debate could add more substance to Pratt’s campaign or embolden his rivals. This meeting will include policy conversations, political stances, and possibly even an important discussion about the future of our city. So, is there anyone watching without AI heroes or villains?
