Duane Smith made some excellent points about our age of celebrity in his Nov. 10 letter to The Signal, except Oprah Winfrey has denied that she received $1 million for her appearance at the Democratic National Convention. Winfrey has stated that she received no monetary compensation for her appearance. Winfrey said the payment was made to her production company to cover the costs of hosting a town hall event.  While the money may not have gone directly into Winfrey’s pocket, it did go to her production company, which paid for camera people, lighting, sound, studio staff and the like. Whether Winfrey should have donated these costs is another matter.  As for celebrities, was anyone surprised by celebrity presidential endorsements? Taylor Swift can get young people to register to vote, which is a good thing, but that did not mean they automatically followed her endorsement of Vice President Harris. Swift chose to attend a Kansas City football game to cheer for her boyfriend rather than appear at the big final campaign event for Harris. Stand by your man, not your endorsement? Yes, George Clooney wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times, calling on President Joe Biden to drop out, but it is reasonable to infer that Clooney was acting as a stalking horse for the Democratic National Committee. Celebrities will continue to grab our attention, in part because they provide us with an entertaining diversion from daily life.  But Mr. Smith was on to something, because it appears that celebrities can no longer influence our vote. Philip Wasserman Stevenson Ranch The post Philip Wasserman | Celebrities’ Diminishing Influence appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.