Did Kamala Harris Pay Celebrities to Endorse Her? Oprah Winfrey Speaks Out

Kamala Harris’s campaign has been accused of spending millions of dollars on paying celebrities to endorse her.

An account on X, formerly Twitter, known for sharing political news with a right-wing tilt, claimed that the Harris campaign spent $20 million on celebrity endorsements, including to Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, Eminem and Oprah Winfrey.

Similar claims have been circulating online in the days since Donald Trump won a decisive victory over the Democratic nominee in last Tuesday’s election.

Winfrey, who appeared at the vice president’s final campaign rally in Philadelphia, has denied claims that she was paid $1 million for her endorsement.

“Not true. I was paid nothing, ever,” she said on Monday, per TMZ.

The claim had been widely reported, including by media outlets such as the Washington Examiner and Fox News.

It has also been claimed online that Beyoncé, who performed at one of Harris’ campaign rallies in Houston, had been paid $10 million to endorse the vice president.

Nonprofit fact-checking website FactCheck.org said that a Harris campaign official told them the claim “is not true.” PolitiFact also said that it had found “no evidence” for the claim and that Beyoncé’s publicist told them it was “beyond ridiculous.”

Newsweek reached out to the Harris campaign for comment via email outside of regular working hours. Newsweek also reached out to representatives for other celebrities who endorsed Harris and have been accused of being paid for it, including Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, and Eminem, via email.

Some social media users pointed out that two payments to Winfrey’s production company, Harpo Productions Inc, can be found under the Harris campaign’s disbursements on the Federal Election Committee website. The payments, of $500,000 each, were made on October 15 and are marked as “event production.”

It is not clear what these payments were for, but celebrity appearances at political rallies frequently involve costs for things like travel, security, and event production, without necessarily being a direct payment to the celebrity.

The scrutiny over celebrity endorsements comes as Harris’ campaign faces criticism for spending around $1 billion during the election. There have also been claims that her campaign ended the election cycle with $20 million in debt.

The Harris campaign won the support of many celebrities, with several high-profile names appearing at her rallies.

Questions have been raised about whether the involvement of celebrities helped or hindered her campaign.

Some analysts and Trump supporters including Joe Rogan and Elon Musk, have suggested that the association with celebrities might have made the Democratic nominee appear to be out of touch.

Harris’ star-studded rallies came during an election cycle in which voters cited the economy as a primary issue.