🎧 From ‘Us Weekly’ to City Hall? Spencer Pratt Makes His Case to Janice Min — AgainThe reality villain-turned-mayoral candidate reunites with the editor who helped make him famous — and takes aim at Bass, Newsom and Hollywood flight
Subscribe on Apple PodcastsWatch on YouTubeNearly 20 years ago, Spencer Pratt became reality TV infamous on the covers of Us Weekly. Now, he sits down with Janice Min — the editor who once put him on those covers and now Ankler CEO — to talk about that era, and his run for mayor of Los Angeles. It’s a roller coaster conversation, part full-circle media moment, part political grenade. Pratt calls Gavin Newsom a “demon” and a “reality star in charge of everything failing.” He mocks Zohran Mamdani’s “free everything” messaging as “B.S.” and says if he’s elected, “the Metro will be free — from you getting stabbed.” He argues L.A. isn’t ready for the Olympics — “not even ready for a USC game” — and claims he already has a Day One “blacklist” of city officials he’d fire. On Hollywood, Pratt frames the industry as existential to L.A.’s identity — arguing production needs to return and civic leadership needs to make the city competitive again. He praises his former high school classmate Jonah Hill for demanding that his productions shoot in L.A., and Pratt says he himself refused to shoot in Bulgaria. He says as mayor he will call out Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. and the studios “all day long” for not keeping production in town. He also has very sharp words for Hollywood unions as they enter a negotiation period. It’s classic Pratt for those who first met him on MTV’s The Hills: provocative and theatrical. But it’s also something else — a reminder that the machinery of fame and politics are now fully intertwined (just don’t liken him to Donald Trump). The former reality TV villain who once plotted his way onto magazine covers is now plotting a path to City Hall. You can listen to the whole conversation on the Ankler Agenda podcast, and you can watch the video on YouTube. Follow us: Got a tip or story pitch? Email tips@theankler.com ICYMI from The AnklerThe Wakeup WBD to PSKY: Put up or shut up The Three Budget Buckets Running TV in 2026 Lesley Goldberg unpacks a quiet financial reset now determines who gets an order and who gets cut Gen Z Will Make or Break These 7 Upcoming IP Films Matthew Frank asks, in the divide between loser legacy brands and lived-in fandom, where does Labubu fit? The Billion-Dollar Scramble for Wasserman Ashley Cullins on the chatter as private equity, rival agencies and power players size up its worth The Goldfish Rules Richard Rushfield’s 26 principles for marketing in the zero-attention age TV in 3: WGA Signals Lines in the Sand Leadership faces members as writers scrap for gigs, Lesley writes Heated Rivalry and the Risk of Loving Romance to Death A once-niche genre is now an IP machine as saturation looms, writes Daniel Parris Bari Weiss and the Great TV News Pay Cut Claire Atkinson on Tony Dokoupil’s paycheck, Gayle King’s negotiation and a shrinking ecosystem Universal’s Michael Moses: My Modern Movie Playbook The legendary CMO talks to Richard about selling urgency in the streaming age 🎬 Only Two Sequels in the Top 10 — And That’s the Story 🎧 Ryan Coogler Wrote Sinners for Wunmi Mosaku — She Just Didn’t Know It 🎧 The Epstein Files Hit Hollywood MORE FROM ANKLER MEDIANew from Natalie Jarvey’s creator economy newsletter: Video Pods Are Eating TV. Apple Wants In Andy Lewis’ latest IP picks: Two Summer Beach Reads Ready to Become Popcorn Thrillers on the Screen |
🎧 From ‘Us Weekly’ to City Hall? Spencer Pratt Makes His Case to Janice Min — Again
February 18, 2026
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