by Jeroslyn JoVonn
November 13, 2024
Oprah Winfrey says she was never paid to support the Kamala Harris campaign.
Oprah Winfrey is shutting down speculation that she received a $1 million payment for her campaign event for Vice President Kamala Harris.
A report from the Washington Examiner, released three days after the election, ties billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey to rumors surrounding the Harris campaign’s $1 billion raised funds and its alleged spending of “over $15 million on event production,” per federal filings. The report claims Winfrey’s Harpo Productions received $1 million for the “Unite for America” livestream event with VP Harris.
However, according to her production banner Harpo Productions, Winfrey was never “paid a personal fee,” Variety reports.
“The campaign paid for the production costs of ‘Unite for America,’ a live-streaming event that took place Sept. 19 outside Detroit, Mich.,” a spokesperson for Harpo said. “Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”
TMZ approached the OWN founder after the rumors surfaced and asked if it was “true that they paid you a million dollars for the endorsement for Kamala.”
“Not true,” Winfrey said. “I did not get paid a penny. Ever.”
She reiterated these claims in a lengthy Instagram response to one user who defended her against claims she only supported Harris’s campaign for a hefty financial payout.
“I was not paid a dime. My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign,” Winfrey explained in a post captured by Pop Crave.
She confirmed the payments to her Harpo Productions staff, who brought in “set design, lights, cameras, crew producers, and every other item necessary (including the benches and chairs we sat on) to put on a live production.”
“I did not take a personal fee,” she clarified. “However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
Winfrey interviewed Harris during the “United for America” event, where the VP discussed key issues like abortion rights and immigration. The virtual town hall, promoted as a star-studded gathering, also included appearances by Meryl Streep, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Julia Roberts.
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