Oprah Winfrey on Monday denied a report claiming that she was paid $1 million by Kamala Harris' unsuccessful presidential campaign to endorse the Vice President by hosting a star-studded town hall event in September. While heading to her car after a workout in picturesque Santa Barbara, Oprah was asked by a TMZ reporter on various trending topics.
"Not true," Winfrey said, adding, "I was paid nothing — ever." The talk show icon initially said that she wasn't interested in discussing President-elect Trump's sweeping victory, responding, "I'm not talking about the election." Last Friday, the Washington Examiner reported that the Harris campaign paid $1 million to Winfrey's production company on October 15.
Winfrey Denies Claims
Harpo Productions, the company, denied that Winfrey was paid "a personal fee" for the payment. "The campaign paid for the production costs of 'Unite for America,' a live-streaming event that took place Sept. 19 outside Detroit, Mich.," a Harpo spokesperson said in a statement to Variety.
"Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo."
Harpo did not reveal the cost of its production services for the virtual town hall, which included several high-profile celebrities.
Later, Winfrey appeared alongside Harris at her final rally in Philadelphia the night before Election Day.
"We're voting for values and integrity," Winfrey said at the rally. "We're voting for healing over hate."
According to an analysis by the Financial Times, the Harris campaign spent a total of $1.2 billion on the race, while Trump's campaign expenditures were around $750 million, though some speculate Harris's spending may be even higher.
Harris reportedly spent six figures to create the set for her October appearance on the popular podcast 'Call Her Daddy', where she was interviewed by host Alex Cooper.
A report by the Washington Examiner said that her campaign spent six figures solely on constructing the neutral-toned set for this brief appearance.
The report also revealed that the podcast segment was filmed inside a Washington, D.C., hotel room, where crews designed a set to replicate Alex Cooper's original set in Los Angeles.
Bad Investment
The Harris campaign, along with affiliated PACs and the Democratic National Committee, raised over $2.3 billion in donations. In total, they raised nearly $4.2 billion and spent about $3.5 billion on the presidential race, making it the most expensive campaign to date, according to the analysis.
In contrast, Donald Trump's team, affiliated PACs, and the Republican National Committee raised $1.8 billion.
Despite spending less, Trump decisively defeated Harris in both the electoral and popular vote—a feat the GOP hadn't achieved in decades.
The Examiner investigated how the Harris campaign used such an enormous sum, including expenses like the podcast appearance. According to the report, her campaign and affiliates spent over $654 million from July until Election Day, compared to Trump's $378 million—a 57 percent difference.
One vendor, Village Marketing Agency, was paid more than $3.9 million to enlist social media influencers aimed at enhancing Harris's online presence. Event production, including the podcast appearance, was a major expense for the campaign, which featured celebrities like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry on the eve of the election.
Federal filings suggest that the campaign spent over $15 million on these types of services.
