Italian
Following the inaccurate reporting and speculation that Oprah Winfrey was personally paid by the Kamala Harris campaign to participate in the “Unite for America” livestream rally in September, Winfrey has once again confirmed that the $1 million spent by the campaign went directly to Harpo Prods.’ production fees.
Harpo, after all, required the fees for pre-production, field shoot production and logistics, as well as post-production costs. The event, held on Sept. 19, was a massive event featuring a chat between Winfrey and Harris, as well as virtual appearances by stars including Jennifer Lopez, Meryl Streep, Chris Rock and Julia Roberts.
On an Instagram post by The Shade Room, which featured video of Winfrey being ambushed by a TMZ videographer (and Winfrey denying that she was personally paid by the campaign), the comments pointed out that it’s foolish to imagine the already wealthy Winfrey demanding $1 million to endorse a candidate. “Y’all thinking Oprah’s support can be purchased is beyond me,” wrote one fan.
Popular on Variety Winfrey herself responded in the comments: “Thank you so much for saying this. 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.
“I was not paid a dime. My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign. 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.”
An insider from the Harris camp backed that up, noting that no one was compensated, but that per campaign rules, they are legally required to pay for costs associated with appearances — including production, travel and costs for their crew. The $1 million from Harris for President was only about meeting campaign finance obligations, and specifically said “event production” in its itemized statement. (It’s illegal to pay for endorsements anyway.)
And that $1 million production fee is not out of the ordinary. The Harris Victory Fund spent $1.15 million on the Madison Square Garden fundraiser they held in March, per campaign reports. And it also spent $480,000 to rent the Peacock Theater for a similar event in June.
“The campaign paid for the production costs of ‘Unite for America,’ a live-streaming event that took place September 19 outside Detroit, Michigan. Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo,” a Harpo spokesperson said.
(Gene Maddaus contributed to this report.)
