In the run-up to the presidential election, Kamala Harris's campaign reportedly paid a hefty sum of $50,000 to the production company of NBA superstar LeBron James, a billionaire athlete who publicly endorsed the unsuccessful Democratic candidate.
This endorsement was delivered via a controversial video that attacked Donald Trump, which was released just days before the election.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, campaign disclosures released this week revealed that the payment to James's SpringHill Entertainment was made on January 28 for "campaign event production."
Interestingly, James, a forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, did not make any appearances at Harris's campaign events. However, he did post a 75-second video on his social media accounts on October 31, which painted Donald Trump in a racist light.
James, who boasts a massive following of 53 million and 159 million on Twitter and Instagram respectively, wrote, "When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!"
The video, titled "Hate Takes US Back," faced criticism for its alleged deceptive editing, which juxtaposed Trump soundbites over racially charged footage. One segment featured an image of Trump on screen while a white supremacist is heard chanting, "We love Hitler, we love Trump." The ad also displayed a news headline stating that former KKK leader David Duke supported Trump, despite Trump having disavowed Duke in early 2016.
This payment to James's company is the latest in a series of extravagant expenditures by the Harris campaign, which reportedly spent more than $1.5 billion only to face the partys worst presidential defeat in decades. The campaign's heavy spending on celebrities, consultants, and ineffective advertisements has drawn criticism from some Democratic megadonors.
Prominent Democratic donor John Morgan criticized Harris, stating, "A lot of people got rich on the back of donors trying to stop Trump. And I think this disqualifies her foreverforever. If you can't run a campaign, you can't run America." Harris, who has yet to decide whether she will run for president in 2028, is reportedly considering a run for California governor and has discussed forming a public policy think tank with her lawyer husband Doug Emhoff.
The campaign also paid substantial amounts to celebrities who appeared at campaign rallies on her behalf. For instance, Beyonc Knowles's production company received $165,000 for a four-minute speech in support of Harris at a Houston rally in October. The campaign paid Oprah Winfrey's production company at least $1 million for an interview in Chicago, and nearly $100,000 to the shell company of Barack and Michelle Obama, who appeared at several campaign events for Harris.
Rapper Cardi B, who spoke at a Harris rally in Milwaukee on November 1, received $58,000 from Team Harris. Despite allegations that she was paid for her speech, Cardi B insisted, "I didnt get paid a dollar. I actually came out of pocket for glam and travel because its somewhere I wanted to be."
The Harris campaign also donated over $5 million to liberal activist groups, including $500,000 to the nonprofit of MSNBC host Al Sharpton. The controversial preacher interviewed Harris weeks after the donation without disclosing it to MSNBC viewers, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
Campaign disclosures do not detail what services James's company provided in return for the $50,000 payment, and the reason for the payment being made so long after the election remains unclear. The disclosures also show that actress Jennifer Garner received $35,000 from Harris's campaign for "campaign event production and travel" on January 16. Garner, Ben Affleck's ex-wife, appeared at several campaign events alongside Harris.
James's SpringHill Entertainment, which he launched in 2007, collaborated with another media production company, HollandWest Productions, to create the pre-election ad. The company expressed their excitement on social media, writing, "We are thrilled to have collaborated on producing this ad for LeBron James as he officially endorses Kamala Harris." Neither the firms owner nor SpringHill Entertainment responded to requests for comment.
News organizations hailed the James endorsement as a significant event in the campaign. MSNBCs Nicolle Wallace called it "huge news," while USA Today columnist Mike Freeman claimed that Jamess endorsement "will go down as one of the most remarkable political acts any athlete has ever done."
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