Lynnette Hardaway, better known as “Diamond” of Diamond and Silk, the right-wing YouTubers and media personalities who bill themselves as “President Trump’s most loyal supporters,” died Monday, according to the duo’s official Twitter account.
“The World just lost a True Angel and Warrior Patriot for Freedom, Love, and Humanity! Please respect the privacy of Diamond’s family! Memorial Ceremony TBA,” the announcement read.
Hardaway’s age at the time of her death was not made public, nor was her cause of death. However, the announcement did include a link to a GoFundMe campaign established by Hardaway’s sister, Heather Hardaway Richardson, better known as Silk, pitched as “contributions to preserving Diamond’s legacy.”
In November, the duo’s official Twitter account told fans Diamond was ill, but didn’t specify the illness. In December Hardaway, a COVID-denier who also spoke out against COVID-19 vaccines, denied rumors that she had contracted the illness.
Upon hearing of Hardaway’s passing, Donald Trump posted a message on social media, saying, “Really bad news for Republicans and frankly, ALL Americans.”
Raised in North Carolina, Hardaway and her sister began posting videos to YouTube in 2012. At the time they were registered Democrats and posted videos concerning a suite of mostly left-leaning issues such as police brutality. They became famous however in 2015 after abruptly coming out as ardent supporters of Donald Trump’s presidential aspirations.
By 2016 they were paid consultants for Trump’s campaign and made appearances alongside Trump family members such as Lara Trump. Following the 2016 election, Diamond and Silk emerged as prominent members of the menagerie of combative media figures surrounding Trump and his administration, and were subsequently the subject of outsized media coverage from mainstream outlets.
In 2018, they were given a show on Fox News’ streaming service Fox Nation and made dozens of appearances on Fox News shows. Notably, their tendency to repeat conspiracy theories and make untrue claims about Democrats based, quite literally, on memes, led to at least one instance of Fox having to issue a correction. They were eventually fired by Fox News in March 2020 after repeating lies and conspiracy theories about the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic.
Most recently, Diamond and Silk hosted a weekend show on Newsmax TV.
