Oprah Winfrey is speaking out after reports surfaced that she was paid to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
In the fallout of the 2024 presidential election, Harris has faced GOP criticism over the alleged mismanagement of campaign funds. According to reports, the Harris campaign spent roughly $1 billion in her bid for the White House and ended the election cycle with $20 million in debt.
GOP critics have taken aim at Harris’ endless celebrity support, claiming that she spent millions of dollars on high-profile endorsements.
In an X, formerly Twitter, post, a right-wing news account alleged that the Harris campaign paid Megan Thee Stallion $5 million for her endorsement. Harris also allegedly spent $3 million on Lizzo’s endorsement, $1.8 million for Eminem, and $1 million for Oprah’s support, according to the X account.
More reports have claimed that Beyoncé, who appeared at Harris’ campaign rally in Houston, was paid $10 million to endorse the vice president. The Harris campaign also reportedly spent “six figures” on the Democratic nominee’s appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast.
Oprah, who made appearances at several of Harris’ campaign rallies, denied claims that she was paid $1 million for her endorsement.
“Not true. I was paid nothing, ever,” she told TMZ on Monday (November 11).
Social media users pointed out that two payments of $500,000 each to Winfrey’s production company, Harpo Productions Inc., could be found under the Harris campaign’s disbursements on the Federal Election Committee website. The payments, marked as “event production,” were reportedly made after Winfrey hosted a star-studded rally for Harris in September.
In response to a comment on Instagram, Winfrey said of the alleged payments: “I was not paid a dime. My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign.”
“I did not take any personal fee. However the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story,” she added.
In a statement to Variety, a Harpo spokesperson said the vice president’s campaign paid for production costs and Winfrey was “at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”
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