Oprah Winfrey is one of the richest people in Hollywood, and she earned every penny.
She created a landmark TV talk show in the ’80s, segued to movie stardom and later built a media empire. She’s the American dream in bold, bright technicolor.
And, when Vice President Kamala Harris asked her to support her presidential campaign, Winfrey didn’t hesitate.
Yes, she said, adding, “pay up.”
The Harris campaign paid $1 million to Winfrey’s company on October 15, according to a report in the Washington Examiner [by Gabe Kaminsky], coming after a star-studded town hall that Winfrey hosted for the vice president in September.
That fee apparently covered two Winfrey appearances. One is the aforementioned town hall.
The second? A very late campaign appearance alongside the candidate. Not bad work if you can get it. Winfrey denied the claim to a TMZ reporter, but the receipts speak for themselves.
It’s a story conservative media outlets are covering for very good reasons.
- It’s news
- It’s illuminating
- It casts the failed Harris campaign in a new, unflattering light
- It suggests Winfrey wasn’t a Harris devotee and needed to be convinced to throw her clout the campaign’s way
You won’t find this story at Variety, Deadline, The Wrap or The Hollywood Reporter. Those outlets routinely bury news that hurts Democrats.
Like this one.
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The story is still reaching the masses, the latest example of the corporate media’s implosion and rise of new media.
The item suggests something else. Did other celebrities get paid to endorse Harris? We now know a planned appearance by ’90s mainstay Alanis Morissette got scrapped due to insufficient funds.
What about the pride of the MCU?
The cinematic Avengers assembled for Team Harris late in the election cycle. Stars Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Don Cheadle, Robert Downey, Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Danai Gurira and Paul Bettany starred in a cheeky video supporting Harris’ campaign.
Many of the stars did the same in 2016 to prevent Donald Trump from defeating Hillary Clinton. This time, the messaging proved more comic, less angry.
Neither worked. Did the stars get a payday from their collective endorsements? It’s a fair question to ask given Harris’ donation to Winfrey’s Harpo Productions.
It’s hardly out of the norm for a campaign to pick up the travel/hotel expenses for a celebrity endorsement. Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik, whose activism includes supporting Israel and American patriots, said as much on his X account.
One of the sickest things about this campaign cycle is celebs getting paid multi million dollar fees to appear in “support” of their preferred candidates. In the few political events I have done, no performers have been paid beyond expenses. It’s an insult to voters. Oprah!? https://t.co/1gnt5XDMiW
— John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) November 9, 2024
Will more receipts flow from the failed Harris campaign?
The assembled Avengers appeared to record their segments from wherever they were at the time. Lo-fi barely describes the effort involved, not to mention the yuk-free lines. In comparison, Winfrey had to assemble an interview set and crew to record her fawning town hall appearance.
Big difference.
Still, the fiscal revelations cast doubt on the role stars play in national elections and how much their hearts are truly in it.
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