Harvey is, as they say, on assignment—working on a special we’ll tell you about soon. But we’re starting with Spencer Pratt, who’s making moves that will make some people think of Donald Trump while doing the complete opposite of Trump. You can’t pin this guy down. He’s playing to the right audience, I’ll say that. And I actually take him at his word when he talks about Mexican food and ICE.

He did an interview with Vanity Fair and said he’s absolutely not in favor of ICE being in L.A. “I’ve said a million times I don’t want ICE here, but I want to get the murderers and rapists out.” That’s a message a lot of people in L.A. would sign on for, regardless of politics. He’s running as an independent but is a registered Republican. He’s got to play to an audience that’s largely Democratic and largely Latino—a huge voting bloc here. He’s running against Karen Bass, who is very secure in those areas. The east side of L.A. is largely Black and Latino, and she has a huge base of support there. His phenomenon has been largely a westside phenomenon about the fires and Malibu. That’s not nothing. But if he’s going to be competitive, he’s got to go east of the 110, as we say.

That seems to be what he’s doing. Although he’s echoing Trump when he says, “I want the murderers and rapists out.” Trump famously said that about Mexicans—that that’s what ICE was going to do. But then once the raids started, the people they were picking up were not murderers and rapists. So Spencer is making that distinction, which is smart.

Now, this part might feel like pandering. He also said, “I’ve eaten more Mexican food than any white person in Los Angeles. I love Mexican people. I ate Mexican food three days a week for literally maybe ten years now.” He grew up here. He’s a big fan. He’s had fundraisers at famous Mexican restaurant institutions. Dropped like $8,000 at Don Antonio’s.

But this is a page right out of “some of my best friends are Mexicans.” It sounds like you’re protesting too much to secure loyalty from a population that may not necessarily know you. This will remind some people of Trump in 2016, the famous Cinco de Mayo photo where he declared “I love Hispanics” while having Mexican food in front of him. Don’t know if he actually ate it.

Trump does this all the time. He’ll be at a rally like, “Where are my Black people at?” It’s performative. Not necessarily sincere.

So in one breath, Spencer declared something very much not Trump—saying he doesn’t want ICE here. That will help with voters. But will L.A. voters think he’s pandering on the Mexican food thing? The guy grew up here. If you grow up in L.A., you eat a lot of Mexican food. That’s just a fact. And he’s loved it before this. He and Heidi were known for going to that restaurant. He didn’t pick it up just when he started running.

“Can he produce receipts for all 1,500 burritos he’s eaten over the last ten years?” someone joked. They’re going to demand it at the next debate.

From his own book: “Your dignity gets real flexible when there’s that much cash on the table.” Page 108. He doesn’t have to say he wants ICE here. They’re already here. All he has to say is he’s not willing to try to get them out. And then, “I’ve had more Chinese food than the average person in L.A. I’m in Chinatown at least four times a week.” Does that make me able to relate to that group? No. So this is pandering.

Look at his billboards around town, especially in majority Latino neighborhoods in the Valley. The topics change. One depicts him as a janitor—conspicuously placed in a majority Latino neighborhood. So believe someone based on what they did before they had money and attention. Money doesn’t change who you are. It just amplifies who you are. And from his own quote, believe him at his own word. I just don’t trust the guy. I didn’t vote for him.

Here’s what I’m going to show you. The Summer House reunion is out, and everyone is deciding who the real villain is. Wes? Amanda? Both? And is Sierra done whining about her ex-boyfriend dating her ex-friend? The reunion started last night. Three parts. I didn’t know there was that much to delve into. They started with the big stuff—this love triangle. We got more info for the first time about the timeline of when Amanda and West actually got together and what the real status of Sierra and West’s relationship was when that transpired.

Here’s some fireworks from the first episode:

“There are numerous times where I tried to make steps to not allow us to get to a romantic place or a physical place and keep it as friends because I wanted to be your friend.”

“You’re so good. You’re good at pulling girls. Do whatever you need to do to climb the ladder to clout chase to get to wherever you need to go. And then you drop them. And then boom, they don’t work for you. They don’t serve what you need to be served, and you drop them. You’re gonna do the same thing to Amanda when this isn’t working out because it’s not going to, and you’re not going to be able to handle it, Wes, because you’re a toddler. Or maybe they’ll be together because I honestly think that the best woman for West is someone who’s not going to check him on anything, and that’s totally Amanda. She’s very mute. She’s going to be that weak figure that he needs, and he can always be the star in the relationship. So I actually think maybe it could work.”

That was harsh. Chills. I get chills every time I watch that. Now I know why there’s going to be another part—Amanda has to respond. She shouldn’t respond because she tried earlier and it did not go well. Just stop talking and apologize.

Wes was saying at the beginning that he didn’t want it to be romantic between them anymore because they had broken up last year. So then what is all this about? He didn’t cheat on Sierra. But during the season, he said he was in love with her, that it was magic when they were together. They were making out on the season finale. But that was last year.

Sierra’s whole thing is: I’m mad at Amanda. How is my best friend doing this to me? You know this guy is trash. And why are you letting him— Wes did her dirty. Why would you let this guy who hurt me so bad, that I’ve cried to you about, come in between us? And now you know he’s not going to be with you. That was Lindsay’s point. He’s going to mess around with you, and it’s not going to work. Wes doesn’t know how to be in a relationship. He had a girlfriend even before him and Amanda got together. There was an overlap. Trash guy.

But Amanda’s fine with it. She’s not. To Sierra’s point, she’s mute. She’s just a weak person.

It seemed like everyone was piling on Amanda, and Wes got it too. But we knew Wes, the guy, is going to get it because he’s trash. We didn’t know Amanda was severely this bad of a person, but now we do.

A viewer named Shady from Newport Beach said: “I completely agree. It’s less about West and Amanda and more about the fact that Amanda completely betrayed her best friend. Throughout the season, we see so many instances. Amanda is validating Sierra’s feelings about West. She said even she would cut West out if he ever hurt Sierra again. It’s true friendship betrayal on another level.”

But Sierra broke up with him a year ago. How is that betrayal? Because throughout the entire season, Amanda was validating Sierra’s feelings. She said she would cut West out. And then she got with him. It’s a betrayal.

The text messages from the Mackenzie Shirilla case have captivated everyone. She’s the young woman serving a life sentence for murdering her boyfriend Dominic and their friend Davion—driving a hundred miles an hour into a building. They died. She survived. People are wondering, and we had her father on the show last week, whether she really should be serving a life sentence. If anything, this may be manslaughter, not murder. Which would affect her sentence. Her parents have tried two appeals and failed.

But we got text messages from the prosecutor’s office that paint a different picture of the relationship. Prosecutors said she intended to kill Dominic. But these texts show that Dominic, according to Mackenzie, was attempting to kill her at one point. She texted him that she was outside his house, wanted him to come out. He said, “Fine, I’ll come out. Give me a sec.” Then she told him, “You’re going to go in the backseat of my car because you’re not allowed in the front. Don’t have it started. I don’t want you to try to pull off.”

That shows he didn’t want to be in the car with her driving. Something had happened before. That could help the prosecutor’s case. But then she says: “Do you think I would have my car started with you in it knowing that you just tried to kill me? I’m not okay with you trying to kill me again. You better come inside my car ready to give three reasons why I should be in this relationship with you and three reasons why you love me.”

What is happening here? It’s a volatile relationship. This is about two weeks before the crash. He was talking about breaking up with her. But why didn’t this “you tried to kill me” text become a bigger thing at trial?

This stems from an incident in the documentary. Mackenzie was driving erratically. Dominic was in the passenger seat, called his mom, said she was speeding up, he was trying to get her to slow down. His mom said they’d send someone. That’s why he’s scared to get in the car with her. But she’s scared for him to be in the passenger seat because of something that happened weeks before.

Why didn’t Mackenzie’s lawyer nail that down? If there really was an incident where Dominic tried to kill her, where is that evidence?

There are 30,000 pages of text messages. They dated for four years. Prosecutors realized she was behind the wheel. This was premeditated. That incident weeks beforehand is part of her planning. They went back and forth arguing about breaking up, showing up at his house. She snapped that night.

When you watch the documentary, at the beginning it seems very clear-cut. But as you watch it, I don’t know that it’s as clear-cut as it seemed. Her mom mentions she suffers from POTS, which can cause dizziness. And in some texts, she says she’s experiencing blackouts. She says she doesn’t remember what happened.

The POTS thing seems like a plausible defense. At least it would cause confusion, show it’s not beyond a shadow of a doubt. But why didn’t they have anyone else testifying? The family is still trying to appeal. There’s so much evidence. Prosecutors are sure she was purposeful.

A viewer from Dallas says: “I personally don’t think these texts change anything. It shows how toxic a relationship can get if you don’t leave. But Mackenzie’s team is trying to change the narrative because Dom isn’t here to tell his side. It makes you wonder how sorry she really is.”

Her lack of remorse is a big deal in the documentary. It’s one reason people feel she’s guilty. They’re still trying to get another appeal. I don’t know if they’ll get it, but there’s evidence that would at least lead to winning a new trial. To this point, it has not.

The POTS diagnosis is crucial. A disorder that causes blackouts. Dizziness. Memory loss. If an expert had testified about what blackouts can do to a person behind the wheel, would the judge have seen the case differently? We’ll never know. The text messages show a young woman who believed her boyfriend was trying to kill her. They show a relationship so toxic that both parties feared for their lives. But the prosecution’s case rested on five seconds of data. Five seconds where the car told a story that the driver couldn’t—or wouldn’t—contradict.

The life sentence hangs over everything. Fifteen years to life. She’s been in prison for over a year. Conduct reports. Rule violations. A video call where she appeared partially nude. Prescription drugs that weren’t hers. She’s not helping herself. But her parents keep fighting. And now, the Trump connection.

The AI campaign wars are heating up. This time it’s not Spencer Pratt or Trump. It’s California Governor Gavin Newsom and Senator Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz started it by posting a photo of a Chevron gas station in Texas, saying, “I just filled my tank in Texas. Gas is $3.99 a gallon. Hey Gavin, the problem isn’t Chevron. It’s California’s stupid energy policies.” In California, gas is almost double that. In some places, it actually is double. Our average is about seven bucks.

Gavin Newsom’s response: a photo of Ted Cruz as a dog eating out of a bowl labeled “Chevron’s lapdog.” He wrote, “Chevron Cruz is a good boy.”

Two things are true. Ted Cruz does take money from Chevron. They donated through a PAC to his campaign. And Gavin Newsom does not take money from Chevron. That said, Ted Cruz is also right that California’s gas prices are absurd. You and I drive electric. We don’t deal with this. But they are absurd. Over eight dollars a gallon in some places. High sixes and sevens everywhere.

He’s right that the reason gas is higher is regulation and environmental controls. If you live in California, you could say, “All right, our air is better.” When I was a kid riding my bike in the ’70s, you’d have to stop every couple blocks because the air was black with pollution. By the ’80s and ’90s, it got a lot better. There were smog alert days—200 days a year—where they advised you not to exercise outside. That’s how bad it got. So there’s a reason for the prices. But our gas taxes are really high too. There are a lot of contributing factors.

Now, a “monopoly” relationship—one partner monogamous, the other polyamorous. Studies show one in twenty adults are in a non-monogamous relationship. Carla Houston and her husband have been together for nine years. They’ve only been in this dynamic for about five years. She’s polyamorous—she dates women outside the marriage. Her husband is monogamous.

She came out to him as bi in 2021. He was fully supportive. One of his suggestions: if she felt she needed to date women outside the marriage, she could do that solo. She waited a few months, then started dating women in 2022.

They’ve built a consensual relationship with boundaries. They discuss when she’s talking to someone. If it’s getting more in-depth, she informs him. If jealousy comes up, they talk about it. It came up in the beginning, but whether you’re monogamous or polyamorous, you’ll deal with that at some point.

If it’s more serious, she’ll introduce the person to her husband. He’s chosen to be monogamous. She’s asked if he wants to date women outside the marriage, and she would be supportive, but he’s just not interested.

Why get married? For her, it makes sense. Being bisexual doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be polyamorous, but for her dynamic, it fulfills them both. It just works. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense to other people because it makes sense to them.

From what she’s gathered, it’s not something he gets off on. It’s not a cuck situation. Everything is completely solo. He’s not involved.

She’s lost friends over it and gained friends. She’s not offended if people have an issue with how she lives her life because it’s her life, and she understands it’s not for everyone.

A lot of people would say she wanted to cheat, but to take away the cheat, she told her husband. That’s the distinction.

Donald Trump is a New Yorker through and through. He grew up there. But he’s not necessarily beloved there now because New York is a deeply Democratic stronghold. When he’s been back, he’s heard boos. So what he’s planning to do at one of the landmarks in Manhattan is very interesting.

Leaked images of Penn Station show a very Trump-esque design. A lot of gold. The presidential seal. And even President Trump’s name on the wall. This is an $8 billion project the federal government has committed to for the renovation of Penn Station. It doesn’t just affect New York City—it affects train travel up and down the East Coast. The Northeast Corridor. So there’s a reason the feds would be involved.

But to put that kind of money in and then make it look like that—do you think it’s a troll? It looks nice. Gold aside, it looks good. But why do you need the presidential seal? I think it might be a bit of a troll because he’s not incredibly popular in New York City. The design may be real, but the presidential seal and his name? Can the next president cover that up? I’m sure that would just cost another $3 million to change the wall.

If President Trump gets his way and it looks like this, it is a big troll.

Speaking of trolling New York City, he was asked today during the cabinet meeting about going to the NBA Finals when the Knicks play at Madison Square Garden. He’s friends with the owner, James Dolan.

“I was invited to go on Wednesday, but they closed it out very quickly. Jim Dolan’s a great guy. He owns Madison Square Garden. He’s having a good year. What a team. They win all their games. I think I’ll be going to one of the games. I was invited by numerous people, and Jim, and I think I’ll be going. The Knicks have really suffered for years.”

That’s true. The Knicks have suffered a long time. I’m curious what the reception will be if he goes. This is not a UFC fight. We’ve seen him get big cheers there. Maybe a different crowd. An NBA game in the heart of Manhattan.

A viewer from St. Louis says: “I honestly think this is peak Trump. Most politicians put their name on campaign signs. Trump puts his name on buildings, planes, hotels, and now potentially one of the most famous stations in America. Whether people love him or hate him, nobody understands branding and spectacle in politics better than Donald Trump. He figured out a long time ago that if people are arguing about your name, you’re dominating the conversation.”

That’s why he’s put his name on top of so many buildings. He gets that. And by the way, he’s also on your passport.

Matthew Perry’s former assistant found out his fate today. He was sentenced after striking a plea deal. He pled guilty to distribution of ketamine. He was facing, I think, fifteen years for securing Matthew the ketamine and injecting him on the day he died. Prosecutors wanted longer than three years. The judge showed some lenience, perhaps because he cooperated. He worked with prosecutors and claimed everything he did was because his boss told him to.

But there was a letter submitted by Matthew’s close friend, Lisa, saying that Kenneth went for a drive the morning after Matthew died. He called her at 4:00 a.m., driving Matthew’s car from the Hollywood Hills to Malibu. She said he was “loving the life.” The family also claims he was trying to maintain a lavish lifestyle. They’re not fans of his.

The judge showed some leniency, but he’s going away for a long time. Almost three and a half years.

I learned so much about Gayle King from just one episode of “Call Her Daddy.” The relationship with Oprah. Obviously, they’re best friends, but there have been rumors for a very long time that they were more than friends. Alex Cooper got to the bottom of it.

What’s interesting is that Oprah and Gayle were not aligned on how to handle those rumors.

“If we were gay, we would tell you because believe me, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just I prefer a man. I prefer a man. So we would tell you. And then I would say to her, ‘You’ve got to say something on your show because it’s hard enough for me to get a date on a Saturday night, and now people think I’m a lesbian. You’ve got to say something.’ And she said, ‘No, we should just leave it be.’ I said, ‘No, you’ve got to say.’ She said, ‘No, I’m going to leave it alone. Leave it alone.’ So that’s fine for you to say. You have somebody. I don’t. So it used to really bother me. And now, even today, there’s still people that say, ‘Well, you know, the truth is…’ I don’t care.”

She didn’t say “I want.” She said “I prefer.” For me, that’s different. But I get what she’s saying about wanting Oprah to set the record straight. Oprah has Stedman. Gayle doesn’t have a long-term boyfriend. But I get Oprah’s view: why give more energy to this? At that point, Oprah’s show was the biggest thing in the world. If she addressed it, there would be headline after headline. People would say she’s being defensive.

If Oprah was single and didn’t have Stedman, wouldn’t she want to shut it down because now she’s closing the door to have… what are you suggesting? That Oprah wanted Gayle to remain single? I just felt like she wanted to keep her show more to herself than she cared to make sure Gayle got a man. She picked and chose. She chose her show and herself over her best friend.

A viewer from Atlanta loves that Gayle is finally clarifying this because it was a major rumor back in the day. She’s happy she had the courage to speak out and say, “This is not me. This is what I prefer.” She hopes Gayle continues to speak out. Absolutely love Gayle.

Now, dart board material. I’m pretty sure somewhere in the White House, this photo will be up, and if anyone hands Donald Trump some darts, he’ll be throwing them at two of his political enemies who are vacationing together. TMZ DC got a photo of Thomas Massie, the Kentucky congressman, next to Marjorie Taylor Greene. They’re with their significant others on vacation in Costa Rica. This beach trip comes right after Massie lost the primary last week. Massie is one of the guys Trump has attacked for years, saying he’s a fly in the ointment, never wants to go along with whatever Trump wants. So Trump threatened and primaried against Massie, and Massie lost. A few days later, Massie ends up on a beach in Costa Rica with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who very famously has parted ways with Trump. They’ve both hinted they might have national election aspirations. So we’ll see what happens if they team up. Trump will definitely be throwing darts at that photo.

A viewer from L.A. says: “Why do they look like they’re filming a season of Love Island: Capitol Hill Edition? I’m not even mad because if I lose a campaign, I’m fueling at the jet too. Why cry in America when you could cry in Costa Rica?”

Exactly. If you can lick your wounds in Costa Rica, do it.

Well, I regret to inform you that a dog in Oklahoma is definitely going to be looking for work. The Tulsa Drillers have a dog for a bat boy. The dog runs out, picks up the bat, runs back to the dugout. Adorable. Well, a player—one of the top prospects in the Dodgers’ minor league farm system—is now injured because he was running to the dugout when the dog went running out to pick up a bat. He got injured. I have a feeling the Tulsa Drillers will be changing their bat boy. Sorry, pup.

See you guys tomorrow.