Kamala Harris faces backlash over report Oprah Winfrey was paid $1M for rally and interview

WASHINGTON, DC: Kamala Harris' campaign supposedly spent a million dollars to get media mogul Oprah Winfrey to host her rally and interview, the Washington Examiner disclosed on Friday, November 8.

The 70-year-old had interviewed the vice president at the "Unite for America" rally in Michigan, a key battleground state, on September 19. Celebrities like Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts joined the event virtually to show their support for Harris. 

According to the publication, the Harris campaign spent $15 million on "event production," with $1 million being earmarked for Harpo Productions owned by Oprah. 

She also appeared at Harris' Election Eve rally in Philadelphia and endorsed the Democratic nominee. 

Kamala Harris' campaign spent six figures on podcast appearance

An insider revealed to the Washington Examiner that Kamala Harris' campaign had spent six figures for her appearance on Alex Cooper's 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, The interview, which was filmed in a hotel room in Washington, DC, came out in October.

The podcast failed to reach the desired level of popularity, as Fox News reported that it is yet to receive a million views on YouTube. In comparison, GOP nominee Donald Trump's interview on Joe Rogan's podcast was viewed over 48 million times on YouTube.

Rogan claimed that he had also negotiated with Harris' team to get her on his podcast, but the Democratic nominee had refused to visit his studio in Austin, Texas, for the filming.

Republican political strategist Brad Todd threw shade at the Harris campaign as he told the Washington Examiner, "Money can’t buy you love or a good candidate."

He added, "Advertising is a pretty important source of information for swing voters. It no doubt matters, but it’s not enough. It doesn’t matter if you have the wrong message and it’s not delivered in a compelling way. What her campaign was missing was any effort to break with the unpopular administration she has been a part of."

Internet slams Kamala Harris' campaign over their promotional spending

Netizens reacting to the Washington Examiner's disclosure mocked the Harris campaign over their spending as well as called out Oprah Winfrey for charging a massive amount for campaigning for a candidate she endorsed. 

One wrote, "She had to pay them? That just makes it so much worse. If they really believed in her, they would have done it for free," and another remarked, "So every single endorsement or campaigning was paid for …. Not because they are all necessarily believers of Kamala."

A person expressed, "Paid endorsements should be noted and pointed out to the public just as in any commercial. To do otherwise is misleading and unethical." 

"NO WAY!!!! She had to pay Oprah $1 Million dollars??? If Oprah cared about 'women's rights' as Kamala represented she would have been happy to do it for free," stated one more. 

Another person wrote, "I’ve lost all respect for @Oprah - as rich as she is and has to be paid that much money to say a few coined lies, yes lies!! Why? I bet Trump didn’t pay @DrPhil that kind of money."

They added, "Granted he was pitching his media company. But it’s disingenuous to accept large sums of money to endorse someone you truly respect for public office."

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