A new report reveals Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign paid over double the initially reported amount for her Oprah Winfrey town hall event. According to FEC filings first reported by the Washington Examiner, the campaign made two $500,000 payments to Winfrey’s Harpo Productions on October 15. However, The New York Times cites sources saying the true cost of the event was closer to $2.5 million.
Harris’s campaign, which burned through $1.5 billion—or $100 million per week—during her 15-week run, has left the Democratic Party $20 million in debt. Donors, meanwhile, report being inundated with fundraising appeals to cover the losses.
Extravagant expenditures included $9,000 on premium ice cream from brands like Sweet Lucy’s and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, nearly $15,000 on food delivery services such as Uber Eats and DoorDash, and $2.6 million on private jet travel over a two-week stretch in October. In the campaign’s final week, $900,000 went to reserve ad space on the Sphere in Las Vegas, despite Harris losing Nevada by three points.
The bulk of the campaign’s spending was directed at celebrity appearances, performances, and influencer partnerships aimed at boosting visibility. Billionaire Winfrey denied being personally paid when questioned by TMZ, while a Harpo Productions spokesperson told Variety the payments covered “production costs.”
“Oprah Winfrey was at no point during the campaign paid a personal fee, nor did she receive a fee from Harpo,” the spokesperson said.
Earlier this month, Shine My Crown reported that Harris’s campaign had been accused of spending millions of dollars on paying celebrities to endorse her.
An account on X, formerly Twitter, known for sharing political news with a right-wing tilt, claimed that the Harris campaign spent $20 million on celebrity endorsements, including to Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, Eminem and Oprah Winfrey.
Similar claims have been circulating online in the days since Donald Trump won a decisive victory over the Democratic nominee in last Tuesday’s election. Winfrey, who appeared at the vice president’s final campaign rally in Philadelphia, has denied claims that she was paid $1 million for her endorsement.
“Not true. I was paid nothing, ever,” she told TMZ.
