Kamala Paid Closer To $2.5 Million For Oprah Sit Down, Report Shows

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign didn’t pay $1 million dollars for that star-studded Oprah Winfrey interview, but closer to $2.5 million for the sit down, a new report shows.

Two people with knowledge told the New York Times that Winfrey’s company Harpo Productions was paid nearly $2.5 million for the September Harris town hall which saw host Oprah joined by such stars as Meryl Streep, 

When the initial report came out that the Harris camp had paid Harpo Productions $1 million for the town hall event, Winfrey hit back and said she did not get any personal payment from the VP’s team. The former TV talk show host claimed that the money went to pay her production team, the New York Post noted.

“I was not paid a dime,” Winfrey wrote on Instagram. “For the live-streaming event in September, my production company Harpo was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, crew, producers and every other item necessary (including the benches and the chairs we sat on) to put on a live production. 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.”

A former advisor for Harris’ also said they never paid any celebrity for their support, after a report surfaced showing Winfrey was part of a host of stars who got paid big bucks for their appearances with Harris on the campaign trail. The spending decisions are documented in the Federal Elections Commission records, the Times noted.

Harris’ campaign also decided to host several star-studded concerts in various swing states on the eve of the election with stars like Lady Gaga, Jon Bon Jovi, James Taylor, and Katy Perry. Officials made it clear that while the stars didn’t actually get personally paid for their support of the Democratic nominee, their support staff did get paid, with the tally for the rallies before the election coming to more than $10 million, the Times noted.

During Harris’ 15 weeks on the campaign trail, the VP spent $1.5 billion, far surpassing the $1 billion raised after President Joe Biden stepped aside and made her the nominee.

It has also been reported that Harris spent six figures building a set for the interview she did on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast. The set was built in a hotel room in Washington, D.C., but made to look like Cooper’s actual set in Los Angeles, The Washington Examiner reported.

The Harris campaign declined to comment on finances for The Examiner’s report, but a post-election report will be available within 30 days, as mandated by the Federal Election Commission.

While they’re not revealing specifics now, the campaign already disclosed in October that it had spent more than $880 million. This number was much greater than the amount spent by the Trump campaign, which was an estimated $354 million.

Amanda Harding contributed to this piece.