‘Blacklash’ Over Kamala Harris Campaign Spending On Al Sharpton, Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, And Other Celebs

Following her recent election loss, Kamala Harris’s campaign is facing backlash for its spending choices, even from within her own party over what many consider financial mismanagement, Newsweek reported. Despite a war chest of over $1 billion, Harris’s campaign reportedly ended with a debt of around $20 million, News Nation reported.

Among the campaign’s most controversial expenditures were substantial sums on celebrity appearances and high-profile advertising placements, particularly in the campaign’s final days. Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, and Al Sharpton were among the high-profile figures engaged to rally support. Additionally, a large digital display on the Las Vegas Sphere cost the campaign a rumored $450,000 per day, with the campaign spending an estimated $650 million on advertising efforts, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to sources within the Democratic National Committee (DNC), funds were also funneled into futile efforts, such as backing Representative Colin Allred’s unsuccessful challenge against Senator Ted Cruz in Texas and pouring resources into Iowa—a state rarely won by Democrats. Some in the party, including DNC finance committee member Lindy Li, have called the campaign a “$1 billion disaster,” The New Republic reported.

Online rumors about unpaid staffers added fuel to the fire, although these claims were debunked by campaign staff who clarified that employees were paid and provided severance. Critics argue that missteps in financial allocation, combined with a lack of transparency about voter outreach strategy, weakened Harris’s position and may have hurt Democratic momentum in other races as well.

Yvette Carnell, co-founder of the American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) Advocacy Foundation, tweeted, “This payment from the Harris campaign to Al Sharpton’s non profit is why people don’t trust the mainstream media. MSNBC’s Al Sharpton can’t be secretly collecting money for his non profit from the presidential candidate he’s interviewing. It’s a conflict. This is an ethics violation from the corner PREACHER without a church.”

Whisperwatch went though some of the money spent by the campign, tweeting, “There really are two disbursements to #oprah’s Harpo Productions Inc from #kamalaharris’ campaign in the amount of $500,000.”

Carnell added more about the Oprah revelation, which Oprah says she did not receive a personal appearance fee but rather money was paid to her production company to pay for the production of the town hall event. She posted, “I thought Oprah said she never received any money??? Now I understand why Plouffe deleted his Twitter account.” She also added a screenshot of a New York Post article of Winfrey denying being paid by the Harris campaign.

Plouffe is a DNC campaign strategist. He recently announced he was deleting his X account after he posted that he thought Biden was to blame for the Dems’ loss.

Although fact checking outlets such as PolitiFact found no evidence of the Harris campaign paying celebrities to endorse her some still spread this info on social media. RealTimBlack posted, “If Kamala was such a great candidate why did she have to pay celebrities to endorse her? The Harris Campaign Paid: -$10M for Beyoncé -$5M for Megan Thee Stallion -$3M for Lizzo -$1.8M for Eminem There’s the wasted $20M right there.”

The Harris-Walz campaign did donate about $500,000 to Rev. Al Sharpton’s nonprofit, the National Action Network (NAN), shortly before a friendly interview between Vice President Kamala Harris and the civil rights leader. According to Federal Election Commission filings, the campaign made two contributions of $250,000 each to NAN on Sept. 5 and Oct. 1, The New York Post reported.

These donations were part of a broader $5.4 million effort by the Harris campaign to engage Black and Latino organizations and build minority voter support.

CBS News posted on X, “The Democratic Party needs to undergo “a housecleaning of the political operative class” who “are out of touch with ordinary communities,” says Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).”