A TMZ reporter confronted Oprah Winfrey about claims she was paid a million dollars to host a town hall for Kamala Harris' failed presidential campaign. Oprah rejected those claims. While she may be correct that she did not receive a personal fee, her production company did receive campaign funds from the Harris team.
The TMZ reporter asked Oprah: "How did you think the election went?"
Oprah responded: "Not talking about the election. Thank you very much."
TMZ reporter then asked: "Is it true they [Harris campaign] paid you a million dollars for the endorsement of Kamala?"
Oprah responded: "Not true. I was paid nothing - ever."
Photog: Is it true they paid you a million dollars for the endorsement for Kamala
— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) November 12, 2024
Oprah: Not true. I was paid nothing. Ever.
Oprah’s production company Harpo: As you can see Harris For President gave us two payments of $500,000 equaling exactly a million dollars. pic.twitter.com/j2ZTjWhgpe
On Sunday, in a note titled "FEC Filings Show Kamala Harris Team Blew Funds On Hollywood Stars, Private Jets," we cited Federal Election Commission filings that show Harpo Productions, which, after searching through public records, Oprah is a director, member of the board and officer of the production company, received a million dollars from the campaign.
FEC Filings Show Kamala Harris Team Blew Funds On Hollywood Stars, Private Jets https://t.co/MuzrKonqRi
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 10, 2024
Per the FEC filing...
Meanwhile, a Harpo spokesperson told Variety that the Harris-Walz team never "paid a personal fee" to Oprah.
"The campaign paid for the production costs of 'Unite for America,' a live-streaming event that took place Sept. 19 outside Detroit, Mich.," the spokesperson said, adding, "Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo."
"Sounds like this should be a bigger scandal," one X user said.
Sounds like this should be a bigger scandal pic.twitter.com/7gFEN6Oid7
— Toby Muse (@tobymuse) November 11, 2024
That's right.
Kamala Harris started her campaign with $1 billion dollars
— MF Free American �� (@mnfrakenstein) November 10, 2024
Built a single use podcast set in a hotel room for $100k
Spent $20 million on concerts the eve of the election in swing states
Ended with $20 million in debt
And you thought she could somehow fix the US economy?� pic.twitter.com/exyOeojXXe
Oprah's presence on the campaign trail, as well as that of many other leftist Hollywood stars, had zero impact on the election outcome. Trump's message on inflation and illegal aliens trumped Democrat's message about gender and women's rights.
Trump won 312 electoral votes. Republicans have majorities in the Senate and House.