Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.
Jon Kopaloff/Getty ImagesWhile many celebrities have been criticized for asking for donations after wildfire destruction, Spencer Pratt And Heidi Monday say We why they are not bothered by the “backlash”.
“We’re very used to negative things, so it’s pretty standard,” Pratt, 41, told exclusively. Us every week Wednesday, January 15. “If people want to send their own money to whoever they want, it’s the equivalent of buying a celebrity’s products, buying their movie tickets. People can do whatever they want with their own money and, thank God, there are people who want to support us and send us anything.
He added: “No one is forced to, and it’s not a tax. People can say whatever they want and they are entitled to their opinion. But everyone who sends messages asks to send money, they ask to create the Amazon wish list. … These are their choices.
Pratt and Montag, 38, lost their Los Angeles home in the wildfires that devastated Southern California earlier this month. The natural disaster engulfed thousands of acres and left at least 25 people dead. Many residents, including The hills former students, evacuated the city limits following government orders.
Pratt and Montag left the area with their sons Gunner, 6, and Ryker, 2, with only a few personal belongings. After losing most of their belongings, two TikTok followers created a GoFundMe campaign in Pratt and Montag’s name.
“When this first happened, that first day, they created a GoFundMe themselves and it continued to work wonderfully and so amazingly,” Pratt remembers. “And then they transferred it to us. We are very grateful to them for doing this and they created the Amazon wish list.
Montag further emphasized that neither she nor Pratt wanted to ask for contributions.
“So our friends Brandon And Courtney (from TikTok) were saying, “We don’t care what you say. We know people who want to give you money and even if it’s just one donation, it’s going to help you,” she said. We. “So we didn’t expect anyone to donate. I didn’t post it, but we had so many people wanting to donate $5.
According to GoFundMe, the Pratts have raised more than $134,000 so far and some of the generosity is as little as $5, but it’s not the amount that matters — the donation itself means so much more.
“People say, ‘Oh, they’re asking for money,’ it’s a coffee for someone, so someone bought us a coffee,” he said. “It’s just by volume, so it might look like money, but scroll down (and see), it’s just people sending you a latte.”
“There are people who think it’s a bigger number and I thanked every single person.”
Pratt further speculated that the supposed backlash comes from those who falsely believe that celebrities are all extremely wealthy.
“Until three days ago, no one thought we were rich celebrities and it’s getting frustrating. For example, if you Google ‘Spencer,’ it literally says ‘Broken, no net worth,'” Pratt said Wednesday. “My net worth on this site you are looking for over the last 15 years…is $1,000. So now our house is burning down, my parents house is burning down (and) now we’re rich celebrities, which is infuriating because the media, respectfully, has never called us celebrities (and) has never called us a rich.
He added: “It’s this weird disconnect that we’re lumped in with actual rich celebrities, which would be great if we were… but we’re not, people know that.”
According to Pratt, it’s “just haters” denouncing him and Montag.
“There is no one with a brain (who) thinks we are rich celebrities. It’s like it’s just hateful people trolling,” he said. “People (who) support us and follow our lifestyle on social media see that we’re not rich celebrities. They see what we do every day. We’ve been posting our lives on Snapchat for 11 years, all day long. Our audience knows we’re not rich celebrities, they know we just eat Mexican food. we get organic eggs and they know we we do it.
In addition to GoFundMe and Amazon Wishlist donations, Pratt and Montag also receive funds from their respective business ventures and social media uploads. Many fans have purchased crystals from his Pratt Daddy Crystals store, frequently stream Montag’s past music, and purchase accompanying merchandise. (They are also members of the TikTok Creator Fund, where the app pays influencers for each popular video that drives authentic engagement, as well as a similar program on Snapchat.)
“Heidi is #1 in 13 countries, I didn’t know people in Oman were going to support Heidi, Netherlands, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, I mean all these countries I hope, if God wants it, and for her to become a global superstar,” Pratt gushed. “We could visit and hug these people who were there for us when we needed them most. »
Stars have shown their support for Heidi Montag and her music after her husband Spencer Pratt asked for help following the loss of their home in the Los Angeles wildfires. “Thank you very much to everyone. #1 on the iTunes chart, oh my God,” Montag shared via an Instagram Story on Saturday, January 11. “THANKS (…)
Their former colleagues from MTV Kristin Cavallari, Audrina Patridge And Lo Bosworth also filmed themselves dancing to songs from Montag’s 2010 Superficial in the respective videos.
“The overwhelming support from these people who use their platforms to help us when they know how influential their platforms are and how important every post is to them and their brands and to ask the people who follow them to rally behind us and help us. – it’s incredible,” exclaimed Montag. “We have never experienced this kind of support, kindness or recognition, and for something so important, it has been truly heartwarming.”
Pratt, who said they plan to rebuild their family home, recently spoke candidly about their financial situation in recent social media videos.
“We invested all of our money in our home and in our life to build something that our children can put their names to and every detail we have kept every year for the last eight years,” he said . We. “Our house was 3,000 square feet. This isn’t a mansion in the Palisades. Everything was perfect, from the stoves to the washing machines. That’s all we invest our money in – and then we go eat good groceries in Erewhon. But our life looked like, “Put our money into our house, eat clean produce and that’s it.” » We make one trip a year to see Heidi’s parents in Colorado.
Pratt continued: “All the money we make from TV or social media opportunities is just a check for a check. So everyone’s like, “Oh, Heidi and Spencer (are) these rich celebrities asking for money.” » I wish I was a rich celebrity, I keep saying I’d be in Cabo right now eating tacos.
Check the LAFD website for local forest fire alerts and Click here for resources on how to help those affected.
With reporting by Andrea Simpson
