Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey's Town Hall Costs Exposed as Payment Controversy Swirls
New details have emerged regarding Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign expenses.
The New York Times reported that the Democratic nominee reportedly allocated $2.5 million for hosting a town hall event with Oprah Winfrey.
As per information from two insiders familiar with the matter, a sum of $1 million was allocated to the media tycoon's production company, Harpo Productions, for the live broadcast event held in September.
Winfrey said on Instagram at the time, "I was not paid a dime."
"For the live-streaming event in September, my production company, Harpo, was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, crew, producers and every other item necessary (including the benches and the chairs we sat on) to put on a live production."
She added, "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 says people in her production company were paid to set up a Kamala Harris campaign event, but she never received a “personal fee”:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 12, 2024
“For the live-streaming event in September, my production company Harpo was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, microphones, crew,… pic.twitter.com/kMjuHQRPCk
Winfrey's clarification comes after being accused of receiving $1 million for endorsing Harris. At the time, she refuted claims of being compensated by the Democrat, stating firmly, "Not true. I was paid nothing," when bombarded by paparazzi during a stroll.
Adding to the speculation surrounding Winfrey's support, it was disclosed that her production company played a role in facilitating Harris' appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast.
The Harris campaign shelled out a hefty amount for Harpo Productions to pay them to build the pricey set that would host the bombshell sit-down.
According to the publication, "A source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner that the Harris campaign spent six figures on building a set for Harris's appearance on the popular 'Call Her Daddy' podcast with host Alex Cooper."
"The interview came out in October and was reportedly filmed in a hotel room in Washington, D.C."
Throughout her tightly packed presidential campaign that kicked off in the latter part of July, Harris' team managed to burn through an impressive $100 million every seven days, per The NY Times.
During the campaign, a significant amount was dedicated to indulging in premium ice cream, with purchases totaling close to $9,000 from establishments like Sweet Lucy's Ice Cream and Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.
In the lead-up to the election's climax, a sum of $900,000 was allocated by the campaign solely for securing advertising space on Las Vegas' iconic Sphere.
Harris' team allocated $2.6 million towards private jet expenses for campaign travel, during a concentrated effort to target key states in October.
