Oprah Defends Controversial $1M From Kamala Camp: ‘Production Needed To Be Paid’

Oprah Winfrey has responded to claims that she was paid to campaign for Kamala Harris after it was revealed that the talk show host’s company, Harpo Productions, received a $1 million payment from campaign funds.

The payment was made by the Harris campaign on October 15 after Winfrey hosted a town hall event in September, per a report from The Washington Examiner.

Oprah was also featured at Harris’ final campaign rally in Philadelphia just days before the election, where she warned voters to get to the polls instead of being tempted to “sit this one out.”

The 70-year-old celeb was confronted by TMZ on Monday regarding the report, which at the time she said was “not true.”

“I was paid nothing. Ever,” Oprah told the cameraman.

Later in the week, the billionaire TV host clarified her remarks in an Instagram post from The Shade Room. She was replying to a follower who wrote, “Y’all thinking Oprah’s support can be purchased is beyond me.” 

“Thank you so much for saying this,” Oprah wrote in response. “I want to high five you and give you a hug. 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,” her reply continued.

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“I was not paid a dime. My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign,” Oprah wrote. “For the live-streaming event in September, my production company Harpo was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, microphones, crew, producers, and every other item necessary (including the benches and 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. And were. End of story.”

Oprah’s explanation sparked some pushback on social media, with several users questioning how the event could cost that much, or why Kamala’s campaign did not cover the costs. 

“This is highly irregular,” Megyn Kelly wrote in response on X. “The subject of the interview does not pay for the set/production costs (the interviewer does) & even more shocking when said costs are $1Mil. Esp shady when it’s a presidential candidate. This is grossly unethical.”