Spencer Pratt Reacts to Being Called a ‘Douche Canoe’ by Gayle King on ‘CBS Mornings’

Spencer Pratt is speaking out after an awkward moment during his recent interview on CBS Mornings.

Pratt appeared on the show’s Monday, January 26, episode to promote his new book, The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions from a Reality TV Villain. During the discussion, Gayle King brought up Pratt’s time on the MTV reality series The Hills, particularly how he — as the book’s title suggests — was an antagonist among the cast.

“Spencer, there were so many times where you were just, really, a douche canoe on that show,” King asked. “And you just seemed to amp it up, amp it up, amp it up. Was there ever a time when you got home, and you’d go, ‘I just can’t believe I just did that or I just said that’? Or were you aware of how you were coming across at the time?”

Pratt took King’s comment in stride, stating, “I was well aware. If anything, I probably should have been a bigger douche canoe. … I think the rest of the cast should have all tried to [have] been bigger douche canoes.”

Pratt reacted to King’s choice of words during an interview with SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio on Tuesday, January 27. “You know, I’ve been called everything at this point. I haven’t been called that,” he said of King describing him as a “douche canoe.” He added, “But my reaction of being called everything is pretty good.”

While Pratt wasn’t offended by King’s comment, he was taken aback by it. “She threw me off because we had a 30-minute pre [interview] and she had notes, my whole book, all these quotes,” he explained on the radio show. “So, I don’t know if she did it to get me soft, you know, like, it was like a bait and switch — like, she’s like a pro, or once she gets in front of the camera?”

He continued, “I was expecting to get gassed up and just be like, ‘Oh, this book is like Robert Frost — it’s so poetic,’ and then she was like, ‘You’re a douche canoe!'”

Pratt notes that he’s “very humble these days” compared to his past self, which helped him brush off King’s comment as nothing more than a joke. “I’m grateful to be sitting with lights in a studio and not just filming myself,” he said. “So, you can get away with calling me anything with good lighting.”

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Pratt joined the cast of The Hills during the show’s second season in 2007. He remained on the series until its end after six seasons in 2010. It was during his time on the show that he met his now-wife, Heidi Montag. The couple eloped in 2008 before tying the knot in front of friends and family the following year. The pair welcomed their eldest son, Gunner, in 2017, followed by their youngest son, Ryker, in 2022.

Pratt has appeared on several reality shows since his time on The Hills, including Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, Celebrity Big Brother, House of Villains, Got to Get Out, and more. He and Heidi also returned for The Hills revival, The Hills: New Beginnings, which ran for two seasons from 2019 to 2021.

CBS Mornings, Weekdays, 7am/6c, CBS