OPRAH WINFREY denies being paid $1million to support KAMALA HARRIS' presidential campaign

Tuesday, November 12, 2024 -Billionaire media personality, Oprah Winfrey has denied being paid $1million to help Kamala Harris by hosting a star-studded town hall event for the Vice President in September. 

Oprah was approached by a reporter for TMZ in quaint Santa Barbara, who quizzed her about the payment.

'Not true' she said when asked about the alleged payment. 'I was paid nothing. Ever.'

The talk show legend initially made it clear she didn't want to discuss President-elect Trump's landslide victory: 'I'm not talking about the election,' she insisted.

On Sunday, the Washington Examiner reported how Winfrey's Harpo Productions had received $1million from the Harris campaign on October 15 after Winfrey hosted the event.

In total, the Harris campaign spent $1.2billion on the race while Trump's campaign spent $750 million, a Financial Times analysis found, although some believe Harris's spending could be even higher. 

Harris also reportedly spent six figures to build out the set for her October appearance on the hit podcast 'Call Her Daddy', where she sat down with the show's host Alex Cooper.

According to a report by The Washington Examiner, her campaign spent six figures alone on building out the very beige set of the podcast for her small appearance.

The outlet also reported that it was filmed inside a hotel room in Washington DC, with crews building the set to imitate Cooper's actual set in Los Angeles. 

The Harris campaign, affiliated PACs, and the Democratic National Committee amassed over $2.3 billion in political contributions.

After raising nearly $4.2 billion, they spent a combined $3.5 billion on the presidential race, making it the most expensive contest ever held according to the analysis.

Donald Trump's team, affiliated PACs and the Republican National Committee raised $1.8 billion. It's not yet known how the money was spent.

The Examiner explored ways in which the Harris campaign had managed to burn through the eye-watering figure, which included the podcast appearance. 

According to the outlet, her campaign and its affiliates spent over $654 million from July to Election Day. Trump spent $378 million, 57 percent less than her. 

One vendor, Village Marketing Agency, was paid over $3.9 million to recruit social media influencers to boost Harris' online appeal. 

Event production, like the podcast appearance, was a big spend for the campaign that hosted the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry on the eve of the election.