Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt is running for mayor of Los Angeles and is now distancing himself from his old flirtation with 9/11 conspiracy theories. The former star of The Hills told conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in 2009 that he believed the attacks were "100%" an "inside job" and urged followers on social media to watch the debunked film Loose Change, calling skeptics "blind," CNN reports. He also said that if he ever became president, he'd reveal hidden "facts" about the attacks and praised Jones for his "awakening" on topics like the "New World Order," fluoride, and microchips. During the 2009 interview, Pratt's wife Heidi Montag told Jones she would rather die than accept a microchip implant.
In a Thursday interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Pratt said he has spent "20 years" regretting those comments. He said he was "young and naive" at the time and now sees 9/11 as a cascade of government failures, not a coordinated plot. "It's actually worse than a conspiracy," he said. "It's that we have people in charge that make mistakes that get people killed." He argued that "negligence in government" allowed al-Qaeda terrorists to act. Pratt attributed his shift in thinking to growing older and losing his home in the Jan. 2025 Palisades wildfire, saying he's "very different" today.
Pratt's conspiracy theory posts have drawn fresh attention as the registered Republican mounts an unconventional but rising mayoral bid in a June 2 nonpartisan primary. CNN notes that Pratt faced a backlash in 2010 for calling it "our 9/11" when The Hills was canceled. He later apologized. The top two candidates in Tuesday's vote will progress to the November general election. The Los Angeles Times reported that incumbent Mayor Karen Bass remained in first place in a poll released Thursday, though almost all of her once-sizable lead has evaporated. The poll put Bass at 26%, with City Councilmember Nithya Raman at 25% and Pratt at 22%.
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