Politics
Man Behind Spencer Pratt’s Viral AI Campaign Videos Speaks Out Amid LA Mayoral Primary
Charles Curran is speaking out for the first time since his creative company crafted the AI-generated videos featuring Spencer Pratt as a cape-wearing superhero swooping in to rescue Los Angeles from villainous politicians that have since gone viral.
“Today is a great first step towards saving Los Angeles,” Curran said in a statement obtained by In Touch, marking the first time the Menace Studio founder has publicly addressed his role in Pratt’s insurgent campaign. “We should have a result already, but the early numbers are clear: LA is behind Pratt, and they believe in his solutions to fix LA.”
“We’ll be monitoring the results and will call out any LA funny business as the final tally comes in!” he added. “Menace Studio is proud to have helped on the grassroots level push Pratt through the runoff.”
The statement arrives as election results showed Pratt, 42, holding a strong second-place position behind incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in the Tuesday, June 2 primary, putting the former reality TV personality on track for a November runoff — a result virtually unthinkable just months ago for someone better known as a trouble-making castmate on The Hills.
According to CBC News, Curran’s studio is responsible for the now-infamous Batman-inspired AI video and a Star Wars-themed follow-up casting him as a lightsaber-wielding Jedi squaring off against the incumbent mayor.
Stanford University professor Andy Hall described the clips as “an important watershed in how AI is changing campaigning” in a post on X. The videos were widely celebrated for their emotional punch, with USC Annenberg communications professor Karen North noting that the superhero framing made Pratt’s pitch remarkably easy for voters to absorb. “Instead, people look at this and go, ‘Oh, I get it. Hero and villain,'” North told CBC News.
Pratt entered the race in January after losing his Pacific Palisades home in the deadly wildfires, positioning himself as a populist voice against city leadership.
