Celebrity News January 29, 2026
Spencer Pratt Reveals How Simon Cowell Inspired His Villain Persona (Exclusive)
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Spencer Pratt is dishing on his new book “The Guy You Loved to Hate.”
“Extra’s” Terri Seymour spoke with Spencer, who looked back at his time on reality TV.
According to Spencer, his villain persona was actually “inspired” by Terri’s friend Simon Cowell.
He said, “David Foster tells me to be like the Simon Cowell of reality television.” At the time, I didn’t know who Simon Cowell was since I didn’t watch ‘X Factor,’ but David was like, ‘He’s the best.’”
Pratt joked that he went “sideways” with his TV persona.
Spencer shared his take on Simon, saying, “He got to be the villain because he was being honest and truthful about people’s talent.”
If Pratt did a modern take of a villain, he would want to be “very truthful” too. He noted, “Sometimes the truth hurts people.”
Spencer kept it real about playing a villain back in the day, saying, “Playing the villain was horrible, but it paid so well.”
Spencer also opened up about his confession in the book that he sold photos of Mary-Kate Olsen and his friend who was dating her to the press.
Pratt has “no regrets” about that, saying, “I’m fine with reselling those again. To me, that would be an Instagram.”
Spencer does have regrets about how he handled his friendship with Brody Jenner.
Pratt also opened up about how his family is coping one year after losing their home in the Pacific Palisades fire.
He revealed, “My mother is doing worse… She spent years collecting… Our house was like a shrine to her family and she didn’t get a single thing out.”
While Spencer’s mom has been “crying all day, every day now for a year,” his kids “still talk about the house burning down.”
As for Heidi, Spencer stressed that she’s been “locked in on her Scripture.”
“The Guy You Loved to Hate” is out now.