Diamond from pro-Trump commentator duo dies of heart attack

ROLEY, North Carolina – According to a death certificate obtained by the Associated Press on Monday, Lynette Hardaway, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump whose death sparked much discussion of its cause, died earlier this month of a heart attack.

Hardaway, 51, who goes by the nickname “Diamond” of the conservative political commentator duo Diamond and Silk, died Jan. 8 of heart disease due to chronic high blood pressure.

Hardaway and her sister Rochelle “Silk” Richardson became famous online as black women who fervently supported Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign. After several campaign appearances with the former president, the two used their fame to land regular commentary roles on Fox News. Their coronavirus hoax ads eventually led to them being discontinued, but they ended up on the far-right cable and digital media platform Newsmax.

Hardaway’s cause of death, which was not reported by the family, has been the subject of widespread speculation. A flood of social media users have suggested that COVID-19 is to blame.

Many of the reports were based on an unsourced, subsequently deleted, online November report that claimed that Hardaway had been hospitalized with COVID-19. Both Diamond and Silk have vehemently denied that the virus brought Hardaway to the hospital.

COVID-19 was not listed as a cause or contributing factor on her death certificate, which was provided to the AP by the Hock County Records Register and was signed by a local physician. An autopsy was not performed.

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A memorial ceremony held in Fayetteville, North Carolina and streamed online on Saturday reignited the rumors when Richardson suggested that her sister’s death had something to do with the COVID-19 vaccine. She hinted that Hardaway may have been “poisoned” by another vaccinated person, reinforcing the misconception that recipients could influence those around them.

At the memorial, Richardson referred to people “dying suddenly,” a reference that has become shorthand among some anti-vaccination activists for deaths they say were caused by COVID-19 vaccines despite research showing the vaccines are safe and effective.

Along with Trump on stage at the memorial, Richardson said her sister died after returning to her North Carolina home from a relative’s birthday party. Richardson noticed that her sister looked strange, and Hardaway suddenly said, “I can’t breathe,” Richardson recalled. She and her husband were doing CPR on the kitchen floor while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.