Steve Harvey Denies Dr. Umar’s Claim He Was Paid To Support Kamala Harris, Dr. Umar Responds
Dr. Umar Johnson leveled accusations against Rickey Smiley and Steve Harvey last week of being paid to persuade Black voters to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House. While Smiley has yet to acknowledge these claims, Harvey is denying Johnson’s accusations.
On his own The Steve Harvey Morning Show, the Family Feud host addressed Dr. Umar’s statement, as well as his claim that the Harris campaign reached out to him for an interview, offering up $10,000 for his time. According to Harvey, he not only has not been paid, but wouldn’t accept a fee as low as $10K from anyone, not even the presidential hopeful.
“Brother Umar, let me say this man. I absolutely love some of the things you say. I really, really do. Some of the stuff, I don’t always agree with, but ain’t nobody got to agree with everything I say,” Harvey stated. “But let me clear the air on something. You can’t hire Steve Harvey for $10,000.”
He went on, “I don’t know where you got that number from, but you can’t offer Steve Harvey $10,000 to do nothing. You can go through the industry and ask about me…I don’t do nothing, NOTHING, for $10,000. Don’t insult the brand equity that I’ve built over these 30 years of television…I’m doing this absolutely free of charge because I want this country to be in her hands as opposed to Donald Trump’s hands. That’s why I do it.
“Now, me and Rickey Smiley happen to be on the same page…but we also understand what’s at stake here, so no, I haven’t received a single dollar from anybody to do what I do.” See Harvey’s reply to Dr. Umar below.
Dr. Umar has since responded with a post on his Instagram page, where he acknowledges that Harvey’s “pockets are heavy” enough that he wouldn’t need $10K, but that he also made “selfish” comments and owes the people “clarity,” adding that he’ll share a full follow-up soon.
Dr. Umar originally took to Instagram Live last week claiming that the Harris campaign is attempting to “buy” the Black vote via paid endorsements. He also claimed he turned down a $10K offer for an interview, while Smiley and Harvey accepted, though he never claims to know the exact fee they were offered.
“Rickey Smiley, I love you, but crying on the radio for Kamala Harris my brother? It’s an all-time low. Don’t do that again Rickey Smiley. Don’t you get on your radio show and cry for Kamala…If you want to cry for Kabama Harris…you do that in the privacy of your own house. But if we’re going to be honest, Steve Harvey and Rickey Smiley — and I love you both, no hate to my big brothers — but if we’re going to be honest, Rickey Smiley and Steve Harvey, ya’ll only carried on because ya’ll got paid to carry on. Can we please be honest? Can we?”
“Kamala Harris and the Democratic plantation is paying you celebrities, paying you to shame Black people into voting [for Harris]. Ya’ll know we not going to get nothing out of that vote…ya’ll being bought. They offered me $10K for an interview with Kamala Harris. I don’t want your money, but we can definitely do the interview…yes, we can do the interview, but keep your damn money.”
Hear Dr. Umar discuss Harris, Harvey, and Smiley below.
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