Fact Check: Did John Fetterman say Oprah Winfrey offered $20M to buy his vote?

WASHINGTON, DC: A viral claim is spreading online alleging that Senator John Fetterman said Oprah Winfrey tried to buy his vote on the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill.' The posts further claim he rejected a $20 million bribe from Winfrey to oppose the 2025 GOP reconciliation bill. Let's fact-check the claim.

Claim: John Fetterman says Oprah Winfrey tried to buy his vote on 'Big Beautiful Bill'

An X user, @gopisgutless, shared a post claiming, "Fetterman drops a bomb on Oprah." The post goes on to say, "Senator John Fetterman just exposed how Oprah Winfrey allegedly tried to buy his vote on the 'Big Beautiful Bill.'"

It also includes the claim, "'She had her assistant approach me and offer me $20 million to vote against the bill. I told her that’s not how our country works.' Fetterman told the Senate Oversight Committee." 

The post further added, "He immediately informed Democrat leadership. Their response? “They swept it under the rug.”

The post concludes by stating, "A Democrat senator turning down $20M from one of the most powerful liberals in America — and his own party buried it. Integrity over cash. Rare sight in DC."

Within hours of being posted on X, it gained over 182K views, 1.1K comments, and 14K likes. The claim sparked widespread discussion in the comments, with one user asking, "Is this true?"

Another, who appeared to believe it, wrote, "Nothing surprises me with Oprah. That woman is notorious for talking out of both sides of her mouth."

Fact Check: John Fetterman’s alleged claim about Oprah Winfrey is debunked

Searches of reliable news reports show no evidence that John Fetterman ever said Oprah Winfrey offered him $20 million to buy his vote. 

There are also no credible reports suggesting that Winfrey attempted to bribe any lawmaker. If such an incident had occurred, it would have been widely covered by major news outlets and addressed by public officials.

The viral post also claims that Fetterman made this statement before a Senate Oversight Committee, but no such testimony or official record exists. In fact, in November 2022, Oprah publicly supported Fetterman during a virtual get-out-the-vote event, stating, "If I lived in Pennsylvania, I would have already cast my vote for John Fetterman".

Additionally, searches using keywords like 'John Fetterman and Oprah Winfrey' and 'Oprah Winfrey offered John Fetterman $20M' do not lead to any credible news articles supporting the claim. Therefore, the claim that Fetterman said Winfrey offered him $20M to buy his vote is fabricated and not supported by evidence.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.