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Kamala Harris’ campaign paid Oprah Winfrey’s production company double the initial estimate for town hall: Report
A new report has claimed that the initial amount – $1 million – was underestimated to a great extent.
Kamala Harris’ campaign reportedly shelled out nearly $2.5 million to Oprah Winfrey’s production company for the town hall it hosted. This is double the initial estimate that was reported.
It was initially reported that Harpo Productions, Winfrey’s company, was paid around $1 million for the September town hall with the vice president. However, a new report has claimed that the amount was underestimated to a great extent.
Two people familiar with what happened told the New York Times that Harris’ campaign had actually paid Winfrey’s company closer to $2.5 million. This, however, is only a small fraction of the veep’s $1.5 billion campaign spending.
Winfrey has denied being paid, and the Harris campaign, too, asserted it did not pay anyone for support, or for appearances.
Oprah Winfrey dismissed claims she was paid
“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. I did not take any personal fee,” Winfrey reportedly wrote on social media. “However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
Winfrey dismissed claims she was paid in a viral video too, saying the reports were "not true," and that she "was paid nothing – ever,” according to TMZ.
At the town hall in question, several celebrities appeared via Zoom, including Meryl Streep, Bryan Cranston, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Julia Roberts, and Tracee Ellis Ross. Meanwhile, a Washington Examiner report claimed that the Harris campaign spent big money on the Call Her Daddy podcast as well. A New York Post report stated that the campaign also spent up to $20 million on swing-state concerts on the eve of the election.
