Kamala Harris’ group paid more than double the anticipated sum to Oprah Winfrey’s company for a live-streamed event during this year’s presidential contest.
According to two sources, Harris paid Winfrey Harpo Productions over $2.5 million for the “United for America” event in September, contradicting to earlier rumors that the Democratic contender only spent $1 million, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Harris’ campaign spent $100 million per week during her brief presidential bid, which began in late July when Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
Supporters are still receiving donation requests after her almost $1.8 billion campaign left the Democratic Party $20 million in debt.
The Democratic campaign’s lavish expenditure has raised rising worries, particularly following their catastrophic loss to Republican Donald Trump, who defeated Harris by 312 Electoral College votes.
Harris spent heavily on influencer partnerships, celebrity appearances at her events, and private jet flights between battlefield states.
According to FEC documents, the campaign spent $20 million on concerts and celebrity appearances in the last days before the election, virtually matching its claimed debt.
According to The New York Times, Winfrey’s production firm received approximately $2.5 million for hosting a town hall with Harris in September.
The event, which received over 1.2 million views in under 12 hours, featured the TV personality interviewing the Democratic contender about issues such as immigration and abortion rights.
According to a representative for Harpo Productions, the campaign “paid for the production costs of ‘Unite for America,’ a live streaming event that took place on September 19 outside Detroit, Michigan.”
Their statement continued: “Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”
The virtual town hall was also billed as a celebrity event, with visits from Meryl Streep, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, and Julia Roberts.
The talk show presenter stated that she did not pocket any of the monies, but rather used them to pay her team and cover event expenses.
Winfrey stated in an Instagram message, “I was not paid a dime.”
“For the September livestreaming event, my production business, Harpo, was asked to send in set design, lights, cameras, crew, producers, and everything else required to put on a live show (even the benches and chairs we sat on).
“I did not charge any personal fees. However, those who worked on the production needed to be compensated. And were. “End of story.”
Along with Winfrey, millions of dollars were spent on superstars including Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera, Megan Thee Stallion, Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, and Katy Perry.
Since Harris’ costly defeat, the impact of celebrity endorsements and performances has been put into doubt, particularly as Trump spent less money on his campaign.
The Democratic campaign and pro-Democratic outside groups spent almost $1.8 billion in total, while the Trump campaign and outside groups spent $1.4 billion.
