Oprah Winfrey has been criticized by her hometown newspaper for her controversial $1 million ‘fee’ to support Kamala Harris.
Last week, reports emerged that Winfrey was paid the sum to appear personally with Harris on the campaign trail.
She denied taking the salary and has since stated that the money was given to her company, Harpo Productions, to host a star-studded town hall event for the vice president.
Now Chicago Stand has criticized the talk show host for her decision to allow her company, Harpo Productions, to accept the money, stating that Winfrey should have paid her employees’ fees herself.
“Frankly, $1 million isn’t that much for Winfrey, which is why we highly doubt she sought any kind of personal payday from her chosen candidate,” the editors wrote in a column.
“But she does own Harpo and serves as chairman and CEO. The production costs should have been a campaign donation.”
The money was spent on Harris’ own venue event, with virtual performances by A-listers such as Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lopez and Bryan Cranston.
Campaign spending reports show that of the $15 million total spent on “production fees,” $1 million went to Harpo.
Oprah Winfrey has been criticized by her hometown newspaper after her production company paid $1 million to host a Kamala Harris campaign event
The Tribune also took a dig at Winfrey for moving Harpo’s headquarters from Chicago to West Hollywood.
Winfrey was forced to address the compensation situation amid a backlash.
‘I didn’t get paid a cent. My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign,” she said on Instagram.
‘I have not accepted any personal compensation. However, the people who worked on that production had to be paid. And were. End of story.’
However, the Tribune also suggested that the “star infomercial” was not the best use of Harris’ time.
The newspaper said she would have been better off if she had “answered questions from independent journalists and given her more opportunity to explain herself and lay out her plans for America’s future.”
It is widely believed that Harris’ celebrity charm offensive has backfired, with many ordinary voters turned away by the vice president’s glitzy backers.
‘Celebrity osmosis didn’t work; voters wanted to hear more about what Harris would do for them,” The Tribune summarized.
The Chicago Tribune said Winfrey should have donated production costs from her company, Harpo Productions, to the Harris campaign
Winfrey hosted a town hall event for the Harris campaign that featured virtual appearances from other celebrities
Harris’ campaign has been criticized for spending money on high-profile celebrity appearances, including a reported $5 million given to Megan Thee Stallion for her campaign performance.
Joe Biden and Harris’ teams have since blamed each other for wasting more than $1 billion in donor money on a disastrous presidential campaign.
The compensation reportedly included $5 million given to rapper Megan Thee Stallion for her July appearance on the campaign trail.
Harris’ team is keeping quiet about the amounts allegedly given to other celebrities, including Lizzo and Eminem, who also showed their support.
Democrats are in disarray that their sizable war chest was unable to fend off Donald Trump, who spent a fraction of that amount on his campaign.
Biden’s poor performance in his June debate with Trump, which led to him being forced to resign by Democratic Party leaders very late in the election cycle, is to blame for Kamala’s loss, Harris say assistants.
But Biden aides say the vice president ran a terrible three-month campaign and wasted millions of dollars from their top donors.
“How did you spend $1 billion without winning? What the hell?’ said a former Biden staffer who was outraged by the Harris team’s apology.