Spencer Pratt says CBS sent cherrypicked interview to aid Karen Bass campaign

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt slammed CBS after the network aired an interview with him, claiming the segment was altered at the request of incumbent Mayor Karen Bass’ team.

Pratt made the accusation in a post on X, writing, “After CBS embarrassed Karen Bass by fact-checking her debate lies about the Palisades Fire, they clearly got the call. CBS filmed with me on my burned out lot for over an hour, and they turned it over to Karen Bass’ PR team to edit it into a comical 5 minute hit piece with clips from the Hills. They can’t beat my ideas, they can’t beat me in the debates, so they gotta try to turn my campaign into a sideshow.”

Pratt added that he no longer intends to cooperate with CBS if elected mayor.

“People are done with these skeezy political tricks, and I’m done with CBS,” he said. “They’ll never get a word from me for my next 8 years as mayor. Adios! What outlet should I have in their absence?”

After Pratt released the statement, CBS posted the full interview online.

Pratt has emerged as one of the top challengers to Bass in the mayoral race, gaining prominence after criticizing the city’s response to the Palisades Fire, which destroyed his home. His campaign released an ad blasting Bass and other leaders for living in expensive homes while Los Angeles continues to struggle with homelessness and poverty.

Pratt took the stage at the Los Angeles mayoral debate on Wednesday, further positioning himself as an “outsider” candidate focused on addressing the city’s failures.

"I'm up here because of their failures,” he told reporters after the debate "That's the only reason I'm running, because I said, enough of these failures. We need an outsider. No more politicians, no more lying. We need the truth."

According to polling from Emerson College, Pratt is in second place behind Bass, who holds less than 20 percent of support.