Harris Campaign Joins Oprah Winfrey to Shut Down Rumors of Payment for Celebrity Endorsements

Kamala Harris’ campaign aides are joining Oprah Winfrey in shutting down rumors that began this week after a report falsely indicated that the vice president’s team had paid at least one celebrity for an endorsement and insinuated other stars who stood up for her abbreviated bid for the White House were compensated for their support. 

The rumors began to swirl about alleged payola, namely to Oprah and allegedly for her endorsement of Harris after a report in the Washington Times on Monday pointed to Federal Election Commission records that show $1 million made to Winfrey’s Harpo Productions. This, as the Times reported, was just a piece of some $20 million paid to media production companies for events; the outlet characterized the role several of these companies played as “uncertain.” 

After Winfrey flat-out denied that there was truth to this accusation on Wednesday, representatives from the Harris campaign began a counter-offensive, speaking with news outlets to correct the record and ensure the public understands a thing about the nature of campaign finance laws, which are the reason for the payments to Harpo Entertainment and other production firms.

“We do not pay. We have never paid any artist and performer,” Adrienne Elrod, senior adviser and senior spokesperson for the Harris campaign, told Deadline, adding that they are required to pay “for any ancillary costs for that performance,” which could include travel to paying band members to a backline producer. “There are laws that have to be followed that we have followed religiously on this campaign,” she said.

An email sent by The Hollywood Reporter to the Harris campaign seeking comment on Friday was not immediately returned.

Per U.S. law, corporations such as Harpo and the several others named by the Times, are prohibited from giving directly to a candidate’s campaign, and if this were to happen, the campaign must reimburse any amount given. This goes for straightforward cash donations but also includes production costs and other expenses around putting on an event.

In support of the Harris campaign, Winfrey hosted a celebrity-heavy town hall event in mid-October and as the Times article points out, the $1 million check in question was sent to Harpo Productions on Oct. 15, which was disclosed via FEC records. The event, as the multi-billionaire wrote in the comments section of a post on The Shade Room’s Instagram page after being stopped and questioned by a TMZ reporter earlier in the week, was produced by her company. Everything from lighting to production and support staff and the furniture they sat on came from Harpo’s coffers — hence the payment was sent around the time of the town hall event.

“I was not paid a dime,” Winfrey wrote after she clarified that she feels she is above rumors but needs to shut this one down before it grows. “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, 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. However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And where. End of story.”