President Donald Trump has accused Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé of taking millions of dollars from Democrats during the 2024 election in return for their endorsements.
Trump said that he was “looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats,” claiming that the two A-listers had received $14 million from the party between them.
Newsweek contacted the White House, along with Kamala Harris’ office and spokespeople for Beyoncé and Oprah for comment via email.
The Context
The accusation follows a week of Trump’s renewed interest in the Democrats’ spending during the 2024 campaign. On Monday, Trump claimed that Beyoncé had been paid $11 million “to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off” without doing any kind of musical performance.
What To Know
In a post to Truth Social on Saturday evening, Trump said that he would be investigating payments made to Oprah and Beyoncé, as well as a smaller payment made to Al Sharpton.
The post reads: “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!
“These ridiculous fees were incorrectly stated in the books and records. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR AN ENDORSEMENT. IT IS TOTALLY ILLEGAL TO DO SO. Can you imagine what would happen if politicians started paying for people to endorse them.
“All hell would break out! Kamala, and all of those that received Endorsement money, BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted!”
Records from the Federal Election Commission do not show an $11 million payment from the Harris campaign to Beyoncé.
Trump did not cite specific news reports in his post, and it is unclear where the $11 million figure came from.
The Harris campaign did make a $165,000 payment to Parkwood Production Media—the production company known as Parkwood Entertainment—that Beyoncé founded in 2008.
The payment was made on November 19, weeks after Beyoncé endorsed Harris at a rally in Houston.
What People Are Saying
Beyoncé said at a campaign rally for then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October: “I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother—a mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided.”
What Happens Next
The White House has not yet confirmed if it will be pursuing any legal action against the Democrats or the Harris campaign.
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