Oprah Winfrey clarified Thursday that she was “not paid a dime” for her $1 million Kamala Harris campaign production, noting that only her Harpo staff were compensated. The TV icon cleared the air following rumors circulating online that her support of the vice president’s campaign was part of a quid pro quo.
Winfrey came to her own defense in the comment section of the online media company The Shade Room, where a commentator rejected the idea that the TV icon would ever sell her support for a political candidate.
“Y’all thinking Oprah’s support can be purchased is beyond me,” the comment read.
In response, Winfrey wrote: “Thank you so much for saying this. I want to high five you and give you a hug. Usually I am reluctant to respond to rumors in general, but these days I realize that if you don’t stop a lie, it just gets bigger. I was not paid a dime.”
She continued, detailing that what she did contribute to Harris’ venture was the participation of her company Harpo Productions, which provided the campaign with production needs for Winfrey’s live fireside chat with Harris on Sept. 19 titled “Unite the Fight.” The $1 million went directly to those costs.
“My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign. For the live-streaming event in September, my production company Harpo was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, microphones, crew, producers and every other item necessary (including the benches and chairs we sat on) to put on a live production. I did not take any personal fee,” Winfrey said. “However the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
In the video clip shared by The Shade Room, Winfrey can be seen walking down a street when she is approached by a reporter who first questioned her about her feelings about the election, to which she replied: “I’m not talking about that.”
He then asks: “Is it true that they paid you $1 million for the endorsement for Kamala?”
“Not true,” Winfrey replied as she got into her door ending the conversation. “I was paid nothing.”
