Oct. 20, 2025, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
While former Vice President Kamala Harris and celebrities like Beyoncé and Oprah insisted they were not paid for endorsements by her presidential campaign, insiders alleged A-listers were secretly paid big bucks to show their support, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Sources claimed some celebrity support may have been sincere, but others received tens of thousands of dollars despite saying otherwise.
Celebs Show Out for Harris Campaign
Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Oprah, LeBron James, and Cardi B were among top talent who came out in support of Harris’ presidential bid after Joe Biden suspended his reelection campaign months before election day.
“I didn’t get paid a dollar,” Cardi B said despite reports her firm Whatspoppin Inc. pulled in $58,867, according to Harris campaign financial records. The reports also showed the Cowboy Carter singer got $165,000 for a brief rally appearance in her hometown of Houston, Texas.
James’ entertainment company SpringHill received $50,000 for a campaign ad skewering opponent Donald Trump. He posted a message encouraging his 200 million X followers to vote for Harris during the campaign.
Oprah’s Harpo Productions Million Dollar Payout
Oprah pushed back on rumors and said she wasn’t “paid a dime” to support Harris, though records revealed her company, Harpo Productions, received $1 million from the campaign for “event production” costs for the “Unite for America” rally in Philadelphia.
The media mogul later explained the pricey production fee: “My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign. For the live-streaming event in September, my production company Harpo was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, microphones, crew, producers, and every other item necessary (including the benches and chairs we sat on) to put on a live production.
“I did not take any personal fee. However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
Campaign Manager Denies Payments to Artists
Harris campaign manager Adrienne Elrod claimed the celebrity endorsements did not bite into Harris’ one billion dollar war chest. She said last November, “We do not pay. We have never paid any artist and performer,” though campaign ledgers revealed James’ payment came three days after Trump took office in January.
Trump Calls on Harris to Be Investigated
Despite the Harris campaign and celebrities insisting they were not paid for endorsements, Donald Trump has called on the Harris campaign to be investigated. Trump alleged high-profile celebrities received millions to support the Democrat candidate, who he also said should be prosecuted.
The president wrote on Truth Social in May:
“I’m looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats, after the Presidential Election, and the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, Eleven Million Dollars to singer Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!), Three Million Dollars for ‘expenses,’ to Oprah, Six Hundred Thousand Dollars to very low rated TV ‘anchor,’ Al Sharpton (a total lightweight!), and others to be named for doing, absolutely NOTHING!”
At the time, critics suggested Trump’s latest attack on one of his political enemies was merely a distraction from public pressure on his administration to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, which remain sealed.
https://radaronline.com/p/kamala-harris-campaign-celebrity-endorsements-paid-rumors/