Media mogul Oprah Winfrey recently denied rumors that Vice President Kamala Harris paid her $1 million to endorse her.
Per the online magazine Variety, Winfrey’s production company, Harpo Productions, emphasized in a statement that she was not paid a personal fee at any point by the Vice President’s campaign managers or by the Harpo Productions company itself.
Winfrey herself also took to social media, commenting on a post to dispute the rumor circulating online. She also clarified that Harpo was asked to provide the material to put on the live production, meaning that those who worked on the Sept. 19 “Unite for America” needed to be paid for their work.
“Usually I am reluctant to respond to rumors in general, but these days I realize that if you don’t stop a lie, it just gets bigger,” Winfrey wrote under an Instagram post. “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,” she added. “And were. End of story.”
The rumors that Winfrey was paid to endorse Harris were circulated by conservative news outlet Washington Examiner. Three days after the presidential election, the outlet sought to discredit the decisions and the money spent by the Harris campaign.
In early October, Harris’ campaign made headlines for raising just over $1 billion in funds for her presidential campaign. No presidential candidate has ever raised as much in such a short span.
Harris had only approximately 100 days to campaign after receiving President Joe Biden’s endorsement. Biden chose to drop out of the race, ending his bid for reelection on July 21.
Before Election Day, Harris was the target of a substantial amount of misinformation. According to USA Today, social media users, in particular, helped spread altered images and videos to discredit her stated policy proposals and ethnic background.
Since Election Day, the misinformation has continued with the claims that Winfrey accepted $1 million to show her support for Harris.
“The campaign paid for the production costs of ‘Unite for America,’ a live-streaming event that took place Sept. 19 outside Detroit, Mich.,” said a spokesperson for Harpo in a statement shared with online magazine Variety. “Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”
