What do you do when your house burns down? Sadly, it’s a question many Californians had to ask themselves over the past few weeks in the wake of devastating wildfires that ravaged large parts of the coastal region. Among those affected were numerous celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Yolanda Hadid, Eugene Levy, and The Hills stars Spencer Pratt and his wife, Heidi Montag. The celebrities documented the loss of their Pacific Palisades home on social media, which led them to receive “life-changing” monetary support from compassionate fans, who streamed Montag’s 2010 song ‘I’ll Do It’ to viral heights on TikTok and purchased a bulk load of her hubby’s merchandise.

So, this article is going to take a look at exactly how the couple was able to earn over $20,000 in just a week.

Both Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt rose to fame on the MTV reality television series The Hills. The show focused on the lives of young people residing in Los Angeles, California and had party girls Montag and Lauren Conrad as its stars. This led to several ventures on Montag’s side, including clothing lines and a singing career. During the fourth season of the series, Montag and Pratt eloped to Mexico, where they got married on 20 November 2008.

Fans affectionately refer to the couple as ‘Speidi’, and they welcomed a boy in 2017, followed by another son in 2022. However, even the most glamorous lives aren’t spared by tragedy.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt)

@spencerpratt

Shout out @All-Clad

♬ original sound - Spencer Pratt

Ever since their home fell victim to the devastating LA wildfires, the couple has been sharing pictures and clips of its ruins on social media.

In a bid to help their family, fans streamed Montag’s 2010 song ‘I’ll Do It’ from her debut album Superficial to the number one spot on iTunes in the US. The iconic track’s fast rise also included some assit from fellow stars such as Paris Hilton, Bad Bunny and Emily Ratajkowski.

@spencerpratt

I love this guy

♬ original sound - Spencer Pratt

And iTunes typically pays artists around $0.70 per song download, so a large number of downloads at the #1 spot can add up quickly, with some speculating that Montag could make up to $1 million if people keep streaming her song at this pace.

“Thank you so much to everyone who has bought and streamed my music!” Montag said in a caption for an Instagram post. “Thank you, thank you! Thank you for lifting us up in such a dark time. Being a light and a beacon of hope with all your support and love.”

Pratt also attracted an ever bigger social media following, with his TikTok numbers growing by a million. Additionally, he revealed that he’s earned around $20,000 from TikTok alone in the last week.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by heidimontag (@heidimontag)

“I made, like, $4,000 on TikTok this week, but on TikTok Live, where people can just give to me direct, I think [I made] maybe $20,000,” the reality star told Variety in a recent interview.

“So that’s phenomenal and life-changing. That’s the power of individual supporters, people just backing you and getting behind you. And that’s the most powerful when you don’t have to rely on ads or AI and algorithms, when just actual human beings just want to give,” the reality star continued. “It’s unbelievable and incredible.”

Additionally, once he’s able to get into his offices in the Palisades, Pratt plans to start shipping new ‘Superficial’ T-shirts for his merchandise collection, Pratt Daddy. There’ve been about 5,000 new orders. While he used to print them himself, there is now a larger company helping.

The reality TV show star is hopeful that paid partnerships will also be beneficial.

Of course, this monetary support didn’t come without some backlash. Pratt addressed it in a recent TikTok video:

@spencerpratt

♬ original sound - Spencer Pratt

“You know, one of my favourite things about my house burning down?” he provocatively asked the camera. “Ever since 2010 when the Hills was cancelled [all] I’ve ever read about myself is I’m a broke nobody. But then it takes all of our possessions in our house burning down. And now in all my comment sections, everyone’s just like, ‘What are you crying about? You’re a rich celebrity!’. My gosh, my gosh, what a rebrand.”