Lynette Hardaway, a pro-Donald Trump social media personality and part of the duo most commonly known as “Diamond & Silk,” has died, according to the pair’s official social media accounts.
The official Diamond and Silk Facebook account announced the death in a post on Monday, and similar announcements were posted to the pair’s official Instagram and Twitter accounts. No additional details on the cause of death were provided. Hardaway, known as “Diamond,” was 51 at the time of her death, according to The New York Times.
“The World just lost a True Angel and Warrior Patriot for Freedom, Love, and Humanity! Diamond blazed a trail, founded on her passion and love for the entire race of humanity. In this time of grief, please respect the privacy of Diamond’s family but remember and celebrate the gift that she gave us all! Memorial Ceremony to be announced soon,” the duo’s official Facebook post read.
Hardaway, along with her sister Rochelle “Silk” Richardson, drew national attention as staunch conservative media personalities and backers of Trump.
“Trump is not a racist,” Hardaway insisted in a 2018 appearance on Fox & Friends. “He is a realist. And the only color he sees is green and he wants you to have the money.”
The former president announced Hardaway’s death on his Truth Social platform Monday night, writing that it was “really bad news for Republicans and frankly, ALL Americans.” Hardaway died at her home in North Carolina and Richardson “was with her all the way, and at her passing,” Trump said.
The former president often met the pair’s support with his own, shouting them out at times during his presidential campaign rallies in 2016 and inviting them to his inauguration in 2017. They became fixtures around the Trump White House, attending a Black History Month event there in 2020.
The pair leveraged their relationship with Trump into hosting their own show on Fox’s streaming service, Fox Nation, shortly after it launched in 2018. But Fox decided to part ways with the two women in April 2020 after they had made a series of false and misleading statements about how to combat Covid-19.
When news of their release from Fox went public, Trump again came to their defense, writing in a tweet at the time: “But I love Diamond & Silk, and so do millions of people!”
This story has been updated with additional details.
