Spencer Pratt has spent the better part of the last decade trying to redefine himself.
Once one of reality TV’s most notorious villains on The Hills, the 42-year-old is now turning the page as an author and aspiring politician.
But no matter how far he moves forward, the public hasn’t forgotten the chaos he stirred onscreen.
Pratt recently released his memoir, The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions from a Reality TV Villain, and has been hitting the media circuit to promote it.
Among his interviews, a recent appearance on CBS Mornings brought an unexpected twist when host Gayle King called him a “douche canoe”—a label that left him both amused and surprised.
A Surprising Comment from Gayle King
Pratt shared his reaction to the comment during an interview on Page Six Radio on SiriusXM.
“You know, I’ve been called everything at this point, so I haven’t been called that,” he said.
“But my reaction of being called everything is pretty good.”
The remark caught him off guard after a pre-interview with King, during which she had notes, quotes, and a copy of his book in hand.
“She threw me off because we had a thirty-minute pre, and she had notes, my whole book, all these quotes,” Pratt said.
“So I don’t know if she did it to get me soft, like a bait and switch.”
He had actually been prepared for a more flattering comparison, joking that he expected someone to liken his book to the poetry of Robert Frost.
Instead, he was met with a blunt, juvenile jab.
“I was expecting to get gassed up and just be like, ‘Oh, this book is like Robert Frost, it’s so poetic,’ and then she was like, ‘You’re a douche canoe!’ I’m like, ‘Oh!’”
Finding Perspective Amidst Past Drama
Despite the pointed comment, Pratt says he isn’t fazed. Losing his homes in Pacific Palisades during last year’s wildfires has given him a fresh perspective.
“I’m very humble these days. I’m grateful to be sitting with lights in a studio and not just filming myself. So you can… get away with calling me anything with good lighting!” he said.
Though it has been over a decade since his Hills days, Pratt maintains that he has no regrets about the persona he cultivated.
King pressed him about his behavior on the show, asking if he ever looked back at his antics with second thoughts.
Pratt admitted he was fully aware of his actions—and even wishes he had gone bigger.
“If anything, I probably should have been a bigger douche canoe,” he said.
He explained that he wanted to be part of a lasting reality TV franchise, similar to Jersey Shore, and felt the cast should have followed his lead.
Memoir Chronicles a Wild Decade
Pratt’s memoir dives deep into the highs and lows of his reality TV career, from outrageous moments on The Hills to personal missteps off-camera.
One particularly notorious anecdote involves Mary-Kate Olsen. Pratt recounted leveraging his friend Max Winkler’s breakup with Olsen to profit.
Attending Crossroads School in Santa Monica in 2002, Pratt said he disassembled Winkler’s “photo shrine” of Olsen and sold pieces to a tabloid for $50,000.
“I asked Max if I could take the photos off his wall—for his healing process. He didn’t say no, so I took that to be a yes,” Pratt wrote.
He added, “Here I was, 20 years old, turning my buddy’s romantic misery into startup capital.”
Less than a week later, the photos appeared on the cover of InTouch, earning him both notoriety and a permanent spot in celebrity gossip history.
“My face was now forever linked to Mary-Kate Olsen’s supposed wild phase, preserved in grocery store checkout lines across America,” he recounted.
Looking Ahead
Now, Pratt is trying to shift the narrative. Married to former Hills co-star Heidi Montag since 2008, the couple has two sons and is focused on family life.
His memoir not only reflects on past scandals but also hints at a potential redemption arc, as he seeks to leave behind the chaos of his reality TV persona while exploring ambitions in politics.
With the book out and interviews underway, Spencer Pratt seems ready to embrace a new chapter—one where he’s more than just a “douche canoe” in the eyes of the public.
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