Coming soon to a livestream near you: Oprah Winfrey.
The television host and producing powerhouse will hold a virtual rally next week to corral support for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid, according to a press release.
Winfrey will headline “Unite for America,” billed by organizers as a “call to action” for pro-Harris grassroots groups. To produce the event, she is partnering with Win With Black Women, as well as more than 140 other organizations, including Cat Ladies for Kamala, Swifties for Harris, and White Dudes for Harris.
ADVERTISEMENT
Around 400 in-person voters will also attend the event, which will be beamed out to platforms including YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Twitch, and Instagram.
Oprah Winfrey speaks on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 21, 2024.
Kevin Wurm/ReutersThe vice president’s campaign has found considerable success in the realm of virtual programming, with pro-Harris groups hosting giant, hourslong Zoom calls that have pulled in millions of dollars in fundraising, most of them small donations by first-timers.
On the night President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, Win With Black Women, which had hosted a weekly organizing call for the past four years, held a virtual gathering that attracted 44,000 people. With Zoom in danger of crashing, a further 30,000 participants dialed in through Clubhouse, and 10,000 more got in on “someone’s conference-call line,” according to New York magazine.
The success of the call, which raised $1.6 million over four hours, sent up a flare signal to other pro-Harris groups. The next day, a call organized to rally Black men to her campaign drew 53,000 attendees and raised $1.3 million.
Later that week, White Dudes for Harris and Answer the Call—essentially, White Women for Harris—saw 190,000 people and 164,000 people cram into a virtual meeting room. (There have also been well-attended calls hosted by more esoteric groups, including Dead Heads for Kamala and Realtors for Harris, according to New York.)
“I cannot think of anyone better to host this event than Oprah Winfrey, who has brought Americans of different generations, backgrounds, and experiences together in conversation for decades,” Jotaka Eaddy, the founder of Win With Black Women, said in the release.
Winfrey made a surprise appearance at last month’s Democratic National Convention to offer Harris her endorsement in her first-ever convention speech.
“Let us choose truth, let us choose honor, let us choose joy,” Winfrey told the roaring audience. “Because that is the best of America.”
The 70-year-old also inadvertently made a viral star out of a woman in the crowd to whom the cameras cut after she made reference to “childless cat ladies,” a phrase disparagingly dropped by Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance earlier this summer.
Although she has historically remained taciturn on political matters, Winfrey offered Biden and Harris her support in 2020, and helped campaign for former President Barack Obama in 2008. (She did not give him another endorsement during his 2012 re-election bid, saying it wasn’t necessary.)
Winfrey herself was not quoted in Monday’s release. Over the weekend, she reunited with friend and fellow Montecito resident Meghan Markle for a “light-filled evening” at the opening of an independent bookstore in Santa Barbara.
“Unite for America” will stream on Sept. 19.
