CNN fact-checks Trump's Beyoncé $11 million payment claim

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

A CNN fact check poured cold water on President Donald Trump's claim that Kamala Harris' campaign paid megastar Beyoncé $11 million for an endorsement. The famous singer endorsed Harris at a campaign rally in Houston just weeks before the election last November in a last-minute bid to jolt support for the Democratic nominee.
Trump has alleged that Harris's political team illegally paid for the support, and that they should be prosecuted for it. 'I'm looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats, after the presidential e lection , 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!)' Trump wrote on Saturday. The Truth Social post also alleged that Oprah Winfrey was paid $3 million for 'expenses' and MSNBC's Al Sharpton was given $600,000.
'These ridiculous fees were incorrectly stated in the books and records,' Trump claimed. '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!' However, an article from CNN's fact checker Daniel Dale asserted that Trump's allegation was baseless. Evidence of the $11 million payment has not been reported.
The White House did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for evidence of the multi-million dollar payment. Harris' campaign has denied paying for endorsements and Beyoncé's mother, Tina Knowles, has called the allegations a 'lie.' 'Beyonce did not receive a penny for speaking at a presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harrris' (sic) Rally in Houston,' Knowles wrote on her Instagram.
According to an Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing , Harris' campaign payed the signer's production company, Parkwood Production Media, $165,000 for 'campaign event production.' Additionally, a spokesperson for Harris' campaign said last year that the political operation did not pay for celebrity endorsements, but they did concede that they had to cover costs associated with the production, like staff and equipment.
Another denial came when a spokesperson for Beyoncé told PolitiFact last year that the claim the singer was paid millions was 'beyond ridiculous.' Harris' campaign paid a non-profit led by Sharpton a total of $500,000, FEC filings show. The Democrat's political operation also paid Harpo Productions, a company owned by Oprah, $1 million for a live stream event.
Trump last spoke about the alleged endorsement payment in February. 'They go out and they pay Beyoncé, as an example. Somebody just showed me something. They gave her $11 million,' the president said at the time.
In a May post on Truth Social the president again slammed the alleged payment to Beyoncé while also suggesting that Bruce Springsteen accepted money for his performance at a Harris rally.