{"id":144559,"date":"2025-01-17T22:02:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T22:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/17\/spencer-pratt-heidi-montag-on-backlash-over-getting-wildfire-donations\/"},"modified":"2025-01-17T22:02:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T22:02:23","slug":"spencer-pratt-heidi-montag-on-backlash-over-getting-wildfire-donations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/17\/spencer-pratt-heidi-montag-on-backlash-over-getting-wildfire-donations\/","title":{"rendered":"Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag on Backlash Over Getting Wildfire Donations"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.<\/span> Jon Kopaloff\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While many celebrities have gotten criticism for asking for donations<\/a> after wildfire destruction, Spencer Pratt<\/strong> <\/a>and Heidi Montag<\/strong><\/a> are telling Us <\/i>why they aren\u2019t bothered by the \u201cbacklash.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very used to negative things, so it\u2019s pretty standard,\u201d Pratt, 41, exclusively told Us Weekly <\/i>on Wednesday, January 15. \u201cIf people want to send their own money to whoever they want, it\u2019s the equivalent to buying a celebrity\u2019s merch, buying their movie tickets. People can do whatever they want with their own money and, thank God, there\u2019s people who want to support and send us whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cNobody\u2019s required to, and it\u2019s not a tax. People can say whatever they want and they\u2019re entitled to their opinion. But, all the people that are messaging, they\u2019re asking to send money, they\u2019re asking to do the Amazon wishlist. \u2026 These are their choices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pratt and Montag, 38, lost their Los Angeles<\/a> home in the ongoing wildfires that have devastated Southern California earlier this month. The natural disaster engulfed thousands of acres and led to at least 25 deaths. Many residents, including The Hills <\/i>alums, evacuated the city limits following governmental orders.<\/p>\n

Pratt and Montag left the area with their sons Gunner, 6, and Ryker, 2, with only a few personal effects. After losing most of their belongings<\/a>, a pair of TikTok followers created a GoFundMe campaign on Pratt and Montag\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen this first happened, that first day, they created a GoFundMe on their own and it just kept on doing great and so amazing,\u201d Pratt recalled. \u201cAnd then they transferred it over to us. We\u2019re so thankful for them doing that and they set up the Amazon wishlist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montag further stressed that neither she nor Pratt wanted to ask for contributions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen our friends Brandon<\/strong> and Courtney<\/strong> [from TikTok] were like, \u2018We don\u2019t care what you say. We know people who want to donate money to you and even if it\u2019s one donation that\u2019s going to help you,\u2019\u201d she told Us<\/i>. \u201cSo, we had no expectation of anyone donating. I haven\u2019t posted it, but we\u2019ve had so many people wanting to give $5.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the GoFundMe<\/a>, the Pratts have raised over $134,000 so far and some of the generosity is as small as $5, but it\u2019s not the amount that matters \u2014 the gift itself means so much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are like, \u2018Oh, they\u2019re asking for money,\u2019 That\u2019s a coffee for somebody, so somebody bought us a coffee,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s just in volume, so it may look like all it\u2019s money, but scroll [through and see] it\u2019s just people sending you a latte.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some people that it\u2019s a bigger number and I thanked every single person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pratt further theorized that the supposed backlash came from those who falsely believe that celebrities are all extremely wealthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody thought we were rich celebrities until three days ago and it\u2019s getting frustrating. Like if you Google \u2018Spencer,\u2019 it literally [says] \u2018Broke, no net worth,\u2019\u201d Pratt said on Wednesday. \u201cMy net worth on that site that you search for the last 15 years \u2026 has been $1,000. So now our house burns down<\/a>, my parents\u2019 house burns down [and] now we\u2019re rich celebrities, which is infuriating because the media, respectfully, has never called us celebrities [and] never called us rich.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cIt\u2019s this weird disconnect that we\u2019re getting grouped in with actual rich celebrities, which it\u2019s great if we were \u2026 but we\u2019re not, people know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to Pratt, it is \u201cjust haters\u201d who are calling him and Montag out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nobody with a brain [who] thinks we\u2019re rich celebrities. It\u2019s like these are just hater people trolling,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people [who] are supporting us and have been following our lifestyle<\/a> on social media, they see we\u2019re not rich celebrities. They see what we do every day. We have been posting our life on Snapchat for the last 11 years, all day long. Our audience knows we\u2019re not rich celebrities, they know we just eat Mexican food and we get organic eggs and they know we do it. We film everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to GoFundMe and Amazon Wishlist donations, Pratt and Montag also have funds coming in from their respective business ventures and social media uploads. Many fans have purchased crystals from his Pratt Daddy Crystals shop as well as frequently streaming Montag\u2019s past music<\/a> and buying her accompanying merch. (They are also members of the TikTok Creator Fund, where the app pays influencers for each popular video that gains authentic engagement, as well as a similar program on Snapchat.)<\/p>\n

\u201cHeidi\u2019s No. 1 in 13 countries<\/a>, I didn\u2019t know people in Oman were going to support Heidi, Netherlands, Philippines, Saudi, I mean all these countries that I hope, God willing, and she becomes a global superstar,\u201d Pratt gushed. \u201cWe could go visit and hug these people that were there for us when we needed it the most.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Celebrities Supporting Heidi Montag\u2019s Music: Paris Hilton and More<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tStars have been showing their support for Heidi Montag and her music after husband Spencer Pratt asked for help following the loss of their home in the Los Angeles wildfires. \u201cThank you so much to everyone. No. 1 on iTunes chart, oh my gosh,\u201d Montag shared via a Saturday, January 11, Instagram Story. \u201cThank you [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Their former MTV costars Kristin Cavallari, Audrina Patridge<\/strong> and Lo Bosworth<\/strong> have also filmed themselves dancing to tracks from Montag\u2019s 2010 Superficial <\/i>in respective videos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe overwhelming support of these people using their platforms to help us when they know how influential their platforms are, and how important every single post is to them and their brands and to ask the people who follow them to rally behind us and to help us<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s amazing,\u201d\u00a0 Montag gushed. \u201cWe\u2019ve never experienced that kind of support or kindness or acknowledgment even and for something that\u2019s so important has just been really heartwarming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pratt, who noted they are planning to rebuild their family home<\/a>, has recently been candid about their financial situation in recent social media videos.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put all of our money into our house and our life to build something for our kids to put in their name and every detail we just kept on every year for the last eight years,\u201d he told Us<\/i>. \u201cOur house was 3,000 square feet. It is not a mansion<\/a> in the Palisades. Everything was perfect from the stoves to the washing machines. That\u2019s all we put our money into \u2014 and then we go and eat nice groceries at Erewhon. But our life was like, \u2018Put our money into our house, eat clean groceries and that\u2019s it.\u2019 We go on one trip a year to see Heidi\u2019s parents in Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

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