Spencer Pratt Challenges Ben Affleck's 'Suffering as Cure for Addiction' Stance

Reality television personality and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt has publicly disputed past comments made by actor Ben Affleck regarding addiction and the path to recovery.

A clip from Affleck's 2021 interview on "The Howard Stern Show" recently recirculated, in which the 53-year-old Oscar winner, who has openly discussed his long-standing battle with alcoholism, shared his perspective on achieving sobriety. Affleck posited that "the cure for addiction is suffering."

"I hate to say it, but the cure for addiction, the only cure I've seen, and not like these f------ overpriced rehabs or a lot of these fraudulent fixes that are sold to people. And they're good people who will support you. Alcoholics Anonymous, I think by and large, is a good organization. It's not the only one. The cure for addiction is suffering," Affleck stated during the interview.

He elaborated on his personal experience, adding, "You suffer enough that something inside you goes, ‘I’m done.' And I'm lucky because I hit that point where I lost really the things that were the most important. It was not my career or money. It was my relationship with my kids."

Affleck recounted a pivotal moment: "And what I felt as if it impacted them. I recognized it. It was the worst day of my life. I made amends. And for a while I thought, ‘Maybe this is temporary, maybe this feeling is going to go away.’ But since that day, I swear to Christ, I have not ever wanted to drink once."

On Monday, Pratt, who made addressing Los Angeles' addiction crisis a central theme of his mayoral campaign, shared the resurfaced clip alongside a strong critique of Affleck's viewpoint.

"I’d love for Ben to join me on Skid Row and explain his addiction theory to the methed out psychos skinning dogs alive and sleeping in their own feces," Pratt wrote. "Plenty of suffering out there, and yet…somehow the addiction persists. I wonder what the difference is…"

Pratt's Advocacy on Addiction and Homelessness

Pratt, 42, known from "The Hills," announced his mayoral bid following the devastating Palisades Fire in January 2025, an event that led to him losing his home. Throughout his campaign, he consistently advocated for proactive measures to tackle the city's overwhelming homelessness situation, framing it primarily as an addiction issue. He frequently asserted that fentanyl and methamphetamine were significant drivers of the visible homelessness across the city.

"LA doesn't have a homeless problem. We have a drug problem," Pratt declared in March.

Pratt was a vocal proponent of placing individuals with severe addiction into involuntary treatment programs, leveraging California's expanded conservatorship law (SB 43). He argued that many individuals struggling with addiction are unable to independently seek the help they need.

In May, he unveiled a comprehensive five-step strategy that emphasized addiction treatment over housing solutions. His plan included proposals for establishing large-scale rehabilitation campuses on federal land, situated away from residential areas. Additionally, his strategy called for an end to taxpayer-funded distribution of drug paraphernalia, rigorous enforcement of existing drug laws, collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to target fentanyl dealers, organized drug trafficking, and international cartels operating within Los Angeles. He also aimed to address what he described as NGOs and organizations that transport individuals with addiction into the city from other states to access services.

During his campaign, Pratt also drew attention to reports of animal abuse on Skid Row, presenting it as another grim consequence of the city's pervasive drug crisis. He repeatedly accused his mayoral opponents, including Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman, of allocating billions to homelessness initiatives without adequately confronting the underlying addiction issues.

Since conceding the mayoral race in June, Pratt has continued to utilize his social media platforms to comment on political matters, particularly focusing on Los Angeles' ongoing addiction, homelessness, and public safety challenges.

Affleck's Public Battle with Alcoholism

Ben Affleck initially sought treatment for alcohol addiction in 2001 and has since been candid about his journey toward recovery, which included subsequent stays in rehabilitation facilities in 2017 and 2018.

The "Argo" star has characterized alcoholism as a lifelong struggle, acknowledging periods of relapse. Affleck has previously stated that his three children—Violet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 14, whom he shares with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner—have been a powerful motivation in his enduring commitment to sobriety.

During a 2020 interview with Diane Sawyer on "ABC News," Affleck revealed that his upbringing with an alcoholic father influenced his decision to pursue sobriety.

"My dad, he was drunk every day and that was just life," Affleck reflected. "Then as that got worse, that was really, really painful. But I always said, that would never be me. I am never going to do that."

He further explained, "I wish he had been sober during those formative years, but what he's taught me is, how important it is for me to be sober now during these formative years for my kids."

Affleck concluded, "I really don't want my children to pay for my sins. Or to be afraid for me, which is one of the hard parts of being the child of an alcoholic."