Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt turned a question about his television career into a pointed attack on incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, invoking her decades-old ties to communist Cuba.
A reporter asked Pratt during a FOX 11 interview whether his fame as the villain on MTV’s “The Hills” was a liability or an asset in his campaign against Bass. Pratt dismissed the premise entirely before turning the focus on his opponent. “The reality, pun intended, is that was from 20 years ago,” Pratt said, according to a video posted on X. “And if we look at what Karen Bass was doing 20 years ago, she was in Cuba learning how to make bombs with the people that would then go bomb Capitol Hill.” (RELATED: From ‘The Hills’ Villain To Karen Bass’ Nightmare: Inferno Fuels Spencer Pratt’s LA Mayor Bid)
Pratt continued, setting apart his own past with what he described as Bass’s record of anti-American activism. “I’m pretty proud of what I was doing at 20 on reality television. Even though it was, you know, I may not have been the most likable character, it was still TV versus trying to destroy America and going to Cuba 20 times and praising Fidel Castro. So against my opponent, my background’s pretty strong.”
ALERT: LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt fires back against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after a reporter asked him if being a “reality TV star” is hurtful for his campaign.
“That was from 20 years ago. If we look at what Karen Bass was doing 20 years ago, she was in Cuba… pic.twitter.com/nly3Blfnfr
— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) March 27, 2026
Bass joined the Venceremos Brigade in 1973 at age 19, a pro-Castro organization that sent American leftists to Cuba, according to ADN América. A 1975 edition of the Communist Party-affiliated Daily World newspaper identified her as the group’s leader in Southern California. An FBI report from 1976 found that Cuban intelligence had arranged for some Brigade participants to receive weapons training. Alumni of the group went on to join domestic terrorist organizations, including the Weather Underground, which bombed the U.S. Capitol during the 1970s, according to ADN América.
Bass herself acknowledged visiting Cuba eight times during the 1970s in a 2020 appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” as previously reported. She also faced scrutiny for a 2016 statement in which she called Castro’s death a “great loss to the people of Cuba.” Bass later said she would not repeat those remarks.
The exchange comes as a Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll shows Bass holding 25% support among likely voters, with City Councilwoman Nithya Raman at 17% and Pratt at 14%, FOX 11 reported. A quarter of Los Angeles voters remain undecided.
Pratt launched his campaign in February after losing his home in the devastating Palisades Fire. He built his candidacy around accountability for the wildfire response, pledging to audit homeless spending and overhaul the city’s police and fire commissions.
