Diamond, left, and Silk take the podium at a rally before President Donald Trump speaks in Fayetteville, N.C., on Sept. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File)
Lynette “Diamond” Hardaway of the conservative political commentator duo Diamond and Silk has died. She was reportedly 51 years old. Former President Donald Trump announced the news on his social media site on Jan. 9.
“Really bad news for Republicans and frankly, ALL Americans. Our beautiful Diamond, of Diamond and Silk, has just passed away at her home in the State she loved so much, North Carolina,” Trump wrote in his post on Truth Social.
The MAGA supporting duo’s Twitter page confirmed that Hardaway had died but did not reveal her cause of death.
Social media, however, has flooded with speculation about her death, with some users claiming that Hardaway died from covid. This has not been confirmed by her family or the duo’s page.
“I’m seeing claims that Diamond of Diamond and Silk – a Covid-19 vaccine hater- died of Covid and was hospitalized for it in November,” Daily Beast reporter Will Sommer said in a tweet. “But the truth is her cause of death isn’t clear yet, and the November claims that she had Covid came from a Blavity article that appears to have been deleted.”
Both Diamond and Silk were outspoken anti-vaxxers.
The lack of evidence of her cause of death hasn’t stopped Black Twitter from speaking out. And in the process, to Black influencers got into a Twitter back-and-forth.
“Diamond —of the right-wing, Trump- loving duo Diamond and Silk— has died. In late November, she was hospitalized due to COVID-19. The duo was fired by Fox News a couple years ago for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. You cannot script this stuff,” tweeted Marc Lamont Hill, a professor of media studies and urban education at Temple University in Philadelphia and host of UpFront on Al Jazeera English.
“I saw that @marclamonthill was dancing on the grave of the woman from Diamond and Silk, trying to link her death to covid. But remember that Marc had what appears to be a heart attack right after getting the jab. People could read into that one too,” political analyst Boyce Watkins shot back at Hill.
While the two posted other responses, many others on social media had lots to say.
Many ran with the covid death rumor.
“And that’s what she deserves. Just like the rest of the dead antivaxxers. Fuck em,” Aro Johnson, who describes himself as a Foundational Black America.
“She’s a believer now,” He Who Da Mayne tweeted, referring to the common anti-vaxer stance that the covid-19 vaccine does not work.
“Diamond dead from Covid so I guess selling your soul for that piece of silver wasn’t as profitable as she thought! Some people truly get exactly what they deserve! So sad, too bad! Time to make the donuts!” tweeted GJTSIMPSON.
Others lacked sympathy.
“Do you think I give two shits about what someone I don’t know calls me? Diamond is dead. She was one of Donald Trump’s boot-licking lackeys spouting misinformation about covid-19 and vaccination and she is dead as a doornail due to Covid19,” tweeted Black Panther Peeps- The Return.
In 2022, when it was rumored she had been hospitalized due to covd, Hardaway dismissed the idea, according to the Daily Beast. And, in December, she returned to her Fox show and said the idea that she had been hospitalized with covid was “fake news.”
Hardaway and her sister, Rochelle “Silk” Richardson became known as Diamond and Silk during the 2016 presidential election as they talked about their support for the GOP on their YouTube show. The duo, who called themselves Trump’s “most loyal supporters,” visited the White House and spoke at Trump’s campaign rallies.
They claimed to be former Democrats who switched parties to support Trump.
As their popularity grew, the duo started doing weekly videos for Fox Nation, but when the pair sparked controversy with comments made about covid-19, they were canceled as contributors to Fox, Newsweek reported.
Then later, the pair began hosting a show called “Diamond and Silk: Crystal Clear” on far-right fringe network Newsmax.
Diamond, left, and Silk take the podium at a rally before President Donald Trump speaks in Fayetteville, N.C., on Sept. 9, 2019. Lynette Hardaway, known by the moniker “Diamond” of the conservative political commentary duo “Diamond and Silk”, has died, former President Donald Trump and the pair’s official Twitter account announced Jan. 9, 2023. She was 51. (AP Photo/Chris Seward, File)
