It’s no secret that Oprah Winfrey was a staunch supporter of Kamala Harris during her Presidential campaign. The legendary talk show host made multiple public appearances for the Vice President this year.
But her most notable show of support for Harris was in September, when Winfrey hosted a town hall in Michigan titled, “Unite for America.” Joined by a slew of celebrities virtually, including Tracee Ellis Ross, Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, Jennifer Lopez, and Ben Stiller, Harris discussed of myriad of topics important to voters such as abortion and gun violence.
The Washington Examiner, a conservative publication, reported that Winfrey’s production company, Harpo Productions, was paid $1 million to host the town hall meeting. The story was picked up by Fox News.
On Monday, TMZ asked Winfrey to confirm if she that helped drum up support for Harris, and she did not hold back on her answer: “I’m not talking about the election,” she said.
When she was questioned if she was paid to endorse Harris, she said, “Not true. I was paid nothing. Never.”
Harpo Productions also denied the claims, telling Variety in a statement, “The campaign paid for the production costs of ‘Unite for America,’ a live streaming event that took place Sept. 19 outside Detroit, Mich. Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo.”
In August, Winfrey made an appearance at the Democratic National Convention in her stomping grounds of Chicago to not only get support for Harris but for the entire party. In November, just a day before the election, she spoke at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Penn. to help push the Harris/Walz campaign over the top.