Oprah Winfrey has firmly denied reports claiming she was paid $1 million to host a town hall event for Vice President Kamala Harris in September. Speaking to TMZ on Monday, Oprah stated, “It’s not true,” and emphasized that she was “paid nothing. Ever.”
The reports, published by the Washington Examiner, alleged that Winfrey’s company, Harpo Productions, received $1 million from the Harris campaign on October 15, shortly after she hosted the event.
This was part of the Harris campaign’s overall spending of $1.2 billion for the 2024 election cycle.
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Despite the reports, Oprah’s statement has cast doubt on the allegations, with the media mogul making it clear that any claims of compensation were false.
The campaign’s expenditures, including event production costs, were a significant focus of the Examiner’s report, which noted that six figures were spent on building the set for Winfrey’s podcast appearance, filmed in Washington, D.C.
The set, designed to resemble Oprah’s regular Los Angeles studio, was just one of many high-cost productions by the Harris campaign, which also hosted other celebrity appearances, including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry.
This comes amid increasing scrutiny over the campaign’s spending, with some sources claiming Harris’s team overspent in key areas, contributing to a major loss in the election.
