It was recently revealed that the U.S. President, Donald Trump, had called for R&B Queen, Beyoncé, to be prosecuted, after claiming that she was illegally paid $11 million to endorse Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign.
However, public records and fact-checkers say no such payment ever happened. The claim focuses on Beyoncé’s appearance at a Harris campaign rally in Houston, Texas, in October 2024.
Trump accused Democrats of paying the singer $11 million for her support. But campaign finance records show that only a $165,000 payment made to Beyoncé’s production company, listed as a cost for event production, not for an endorsement.
According to U.S. news outlet CNN, the Harris campaign clarified that they don’t pay celebrities for political support. They said federal law requires them to cover certain event-related costs when public figures appear – with the $165,000 going toward production services, not to Beyoncé personally.
Fact-checkers from PolitiFact and FactCheck.org reviewed the $10–11 million claim and found no proof to support it. Beyoncé’s team also denied the rumour.
Her mother, Tina Knowles, publicly called it a “lie” and said Instagram flagged posts spreading the claim as false. A spokesperson for the singer also called the allegation “beyond ridiculous.”
Trump repeated the baseless claim in a social media post while in Scotland recently, whilst also accused the Harris campaign of illegally paying for endorsements and said those involved “broke the law” and should be prosecuted. But there’s no federal law banning paid endorsements, and the President has provided no evidence to support any of his accusations.
