RALEIGH, NC – Lynette Hardaway, an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump, whose death had led to widespread speculation as to its cause, died earlier this month a heart condition, according to a death certificate obtained by The Associated Press on Monday.
Known by the nickname “Diamond” from conservative political commentator duo Diamond and Silk, Hardaway, 51, died on Jan. 8 of heart disease caused by chronic high blood pressure.
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Hardaway and her sister, Rochelle “Silk” Richardson, rose to internet fame as black women who passionately supported Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. After several campaign appearances with the former president, the two used their notoriety to land regular commentating roles on Fox News. Their promotion of fake coronavirus eventually got them dropped, but they ended up with far-right cable and digital media platform Newsmax.
Hardaway’s cause of death, which was not released by the family, had become the subject of widespread speculation. A flurry of social media users suggested that COVID-19 was to blame.
Many of the posts were based on an unsourced and since deleted online report from November that claimed Hardaway was hospitalized with COVID-19. Both diamond and silk vehemently denied that the virus had taken Hardaway to the hospital.
COVID-19 was not listed as a cause or contributing factor on her death certificate, which was submitted to the AP by the Hoke County Register of Deeds and signed by a local doctor. No autopsy was performed.
A memorial ceremony held in Fayetteville, North Carolina and streamed online on Saturday renewed speculation when Richardson suggested her sister’s death was somehow related to the COVID-19 vaccine. She hinted that Hardaway may have been “poisoned” by another vaccinated person, which reinforced this wrong notion that recipients can influence their environment.
At the memorial, Richardson mentioned people who “died suddenly,” a reference that has become shorthand among some anti-vaccine activists for deaths they say were caused by COVID-19 gunshots, despite studies show that the vaccines are safe and effective.
Richardson, who was joined by Trump on the memorial’s stage, said her sister died after returning to her home in North Carolina from a relative’s birthday party. Richardson noticed that her sister looked odd, and Hardaway suddenly said, “I can’t breathe,” Richardson recalled. She and her husband performed CPR on the kitchen floor while waiting for emergency services to arrive.
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Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that brings journalists into local newsrooms to cover undercover topics.
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Associated Press writer Sophia Tulp in New York; Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, NC; and Lea Skene of Baltimore, Maryland, contributed to this report.
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