Skid Row Voters Claim They Were Paid to Back Spencer Pratt’s Rival Karen Bass

Spencer Pratt is at the center of a growing political controversy in Los Angeles after a series of videos surfaced showing Skid Row residents claiming they were paid or otherwise incentivized to vote for Mayor Karen Bass and councilwoman Nithya Raman.

The videos posted to TikTok were recorded near 7th Street and Flower Street in downtown Los Angeles, per a New York Post report published Tuesday, June 9, which noted the footage has been turned over to the Department of Justice.

In one clip, a man who identified himself as Kevin Shepherd, who has been living on Skid Row for five years, claimed he received $4 in exchange for completing a mail-in ballot for Bass and dropping it in a ballot box. Shepherd said he was initially offered $2 but negotiated for a higher payment.

Another man on Skid Row who said he was a registered voter — but not in that county — described a more directed form of alleged influence. “They gave me a whole paper of what to write and who to sign,” he said. “I just signed off on it to make some money.”

A woman in a wheelchair also spoke on camera about the alleged arrangement. “I signed twice and could pick out whatever I wanted,” she said, describing being offered a gift in exchange for her vote, in the video.

Shanika Rene Johnson, 39, a Skid Row resident, also alleged she received $5 after being directed to cast her ballot for Bass. Johnson told the video’s creator that while she already supported Bass, she was confused about some of the paperwork she had signed at the time.

“I was just trying to make five bucks, you know?” she said. “But I didn’t do the fraud.” When asked whether she believed the situation constituted fraud, Johnson said she considered it “fraudulent behavior,” adding that she felt people in the area were being taken advantage of.

The videos surfaced one day after Pratt, 42, was eliminated from the L.A. mayoral race as Raman surged into contention for a potential runoff spot. Despite his election loss, Pratt could be headed to Washington, as In Touch previously reported, President Donald Trump is said to be weighing a White House position for the former reality TV star.

The New York Post noted it was unable to independently verify the claims made in the videos.