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Oprah Winfrey is denying allegations that she took $1 million from the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, allegations that have been repeatedly shared by social media observers.
In the wake of the presidential election loss by Vice President Kamala Harris, higher scrutiny on the Democratic Party’s spending has increased and many are looking at allegations that Oprah Winfrey personally received money from the campaign to the tune of $1 million. The allegation came as part of a report by the Washington Examiner, a conservative media outlet, which took a look at the financial output of the Harris campaign which had collected $1 billion in three months of fundraising. The Examiner reported that the campaign “paid more than $15 million, according to federal filings,” on “event production.” That included the million dollars paid to Harpo Productions, Winfrey’s company.
Harpo Productions was responsible for putting on the “Unite For America” livestream event for Harris that aired in September and was held in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. The town hall featured celebrities such as actresses Tracee Ellis Ross and Meryl Streep among others appearing virtually. Winfrey interviewed the vice president about her stances on reproductive rights, including abortion, as well as gun control. The reports led to some online expressing their dislike of the situation, and decrying how much monetary donations and high-profile figures have gotten a say in the nation’s politics.
Other outlets picked up on the Examiner’s article and began to write that Winfrey herself had been paid that sum of one million. A reporter from TMZ confronted Oprah Winfrey on the street in a video released on Monday (November 10). “Is it true that they paid you a million dollars for the endorsement for Kamala?”, the reporter asked. “Not true,” Winfrey replied. “I did not get paid a penny. Ever.” She responded to a commenter who was defending her on Instagram, reiterating that she wasn’t personally paid and explaining how her company was paid for producing the virtual town hall.