LA has been cooked since Covid what am I missing lol
In a city still reckoning with wildfire, homelessness, and pandemic-era disillusionment, a former reality television personality has emerged as a serious challenger to Los Angeles's incumbent mayor — backed not only by presidential endorsement but by a $36,000 wager from an NBA champion. Kyle Kuzma's bet on Spencer Pratt in the June 2 mayoral primary is less a sports gamble than a cultural signal: that frustration with institutional governance has grown loud enough to be heard in unexpected places. The race asks an old question in a new register — whether the machinery of established power can withstand the force of collective discontent.
- Spencer Pratt, who lost his Pacific Palisades home in the 2025 wildfires, entered the LA mayor's race in January and has refused to fade as the novelty candidate many assumed he would be.
- Voter anger over crime, homelessness, and city spending has given Pratt's outsider message genuine traction against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, whom he has attacked relentlessly as a symbol of failed progressive leadership.
- The endorsements are piling up in unlikely corners — President Trump, Lakers minority owner Jeanie Buss, and now a $36,000 public bet from former Laker Kyle Kuzma, each signal that this candidacy is being taken seriously beyond the tabloid framing.
- Pratt's core promise — 'I'm going to make LA safe' — is simple by design, aimed at a city where complexity has long been offered as an excuse for inaction.
- With the primary days away, the race has crystallized into a referendum on whether anti-establishment energy, celebrity amplification, and real grievance can outrun the deep infrastructure of traditional political machinery.
Kyle Kuzma, who won an NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020, placed a $36,000 bet on Spencer Pratt to win the Los Angeles mayoral primary — a wager that doubles as a public declaration of faith in an outsider candidacy few initially took seriously. When asked to explain his support, Kuzma was characteristically direct: 'LA has been cooked since Covid what am I missing lol.'
Pratt, best known for his years on reality television's 'The Hills,' entered the race in January after losing his Pacific Palisades home in the 2025 wildfires. His frustration with the city's emergency response hardened into a campaign against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, whom he has targeted as the embodiment of progressive governance gone wrong — mockingly calling her 'Karen Basura' while hammering on crime, homelessness, and City Hall spending.
What surprised observers was that Pratt didn't fade. He sustained momentum by converting genuine voter anxiety into a consistent reform message, and his coalition has grown into something harder to dismiss. President Trump endorsed him. Lakers minority owner Jeanie Buss backed him. At a Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano event at the Intuit Dome, Pratt distilled his entire platform into five words: 'I'm going to make LA safe.'
Kuzma's $36,000 bet is the latest and most financially explicit expression of a broader sentiment — that the city's direction is wrong, and that an outsider with no political experience might be better positioned to change it than anyone the system has produced. Los Angeles voters will render their verdict on June 2.
Kyle Kuzma, the Milwaukee Bucks forward who won a championship with the Lakers in 2020, has put $36,000 on Spencer Pratt to become the next mayor of Los Angeles. The bet, placed days before the June 2 nonpartisan primary, signals serious financial backing for a candidacy that has surprised many observers—Pratt, best known for his years on the reality television show "The Hills," entered the race in January after losing his Pacific Palisades home in the 2025 wildfires.
When questioned about his support for Pratt, Kuzma responded on social media with a blunt assessment: "LA has been cooked since Covid what am I missing lol." The comment captures a sentiment that has fueled Pratt's campaign from its inception. Frustrated with how city leadership handled the emergency response to the wildfires, Pratt decided to challenge incumbent Mayor Karen Bass, positioning himself as an outsider willing to break with what he characterizes as failed progressive policies.
Pratt's campaign has tapped into genuine voter anxiety. Crime remains a persistent concern in the city. The homelessness crisis continues to strain municipal resources and public patience. Spending decisions at City Hall have drawn criticism from residents across the political spectrum. Rather than fade as a novelty candidate—which many expected—Pratt has sustained momentum by channeling these frustrations into a consistent message about reform and public safety. He has not shied away from direct attacks on Bass, mockingly calling her "Karen Basura" while hammering away at what he sees as the consequences of progressive governance.
Pratt's campaign has attracted backing from unexpected quarters. President Trump has endorsed him. Jeanie Buss, a minority owner of the Lakers, has also thrown her support behind him. These endorsements, combined with Kuzma's substantial wager, suggest that Pratt's candidacy is being taken seriously by figures with both celebrity status and financial resources. When Pratt spoke at a Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano event at the Intuit Dome, he articulated his core promise simply: "I'm going to make LA safe."
The race has become a test of whether anti-establishment sentiment, amplified by celebrity backing and fueled by genuine grievances about city conditions, can overcome the machinery of traditional politics. Kuzma's $36,000 bet is not merely a personal wager—it is a public statement that he believes the city's trajectory can change, and that an outsider with no political experience might be the one to change it. With the primary just days away, Los Angeles voters will decide whether they agree.
Citações Notáveis
I'm going to make LA safe— Spencer Pratt
LA has been cooked since Covid what am I missing lol— Kyle Kuzma, on social media
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would an NBA player with no obvious connection to LA politics risk that much money on a reality TV star?
Because Kuzma spent four seasons with the Lakers and lived through the city's decline. He's not betting on Pratt the celebrity—he's betting on the anger Pratt represents.
But Pratt has no governing experience. Isn't that a massive liability?
It would be, except the incumbent has been in office and people are still frustrated. For voters exhausted by the status quo, inexperience starts to look like a feature, not a bug.
The wildfires seem to be the hinge moment for Pratt's entry. Why did losing his home change everything?
It gave him credibility he wouldn't have had otherwise. He's not an outsider lecturing from the sidelines—he's someone who suffered the same failure of city systems that his neighbors did.
What does Kuzma's bet signal about how celebrities view LA's problems?
That they see them as real and urgent enough to stake real money on a long-shot solution. It's not performative support—it's a $36,000 declaration that the city is broken.
Can Pratt actually win, or is this just noise?
The fact that we're asking that question at all, days before the vote, means he's already shifted the conversation. Whether he wins or loses, he's forced the city to reckon with how angry people actually are.