Ineitha Lynnette Hardaway, AKA 'Diamond' Of Diamond And Silk, Dies, Setting Off Wave Of Disparate Reactions

Ineitha Lynnette Hardaway, aka "Diamond" of conservative influencers Diamond and Silk, has died according to a Truth Social post from Donald Trump and a tweet from Rochelle Richardson, aka Silk. She was 51 years old.

Diamond of pro-Trump duo Diamond and Silk has died, according to Trump. A few weeks ago, their account said that she had been sick. pic.twitter.com/hdS90t7DH5

— Will Sommer (@willsommer) January 10, 2023

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.

Contributions towards Preserving Diamond’s Legacy are only being accepted at the following link:https://t.co/g6J6NlBXE7

— Diamond and Silk® (@DiamondandSilk) January 10, 2023

The news of Hardaway's death set off a wave of disparate emotions on social media today, as even those ideologically opposed to Diamond's hard-right political beliefs hesitated to rejoice in the death of another human, but several aspects surrounding her death gave the story an air of tragicomedy for some posters.

For starters, it seemed her death was fodder for /r/HermanCainAward, a subreddit devoted to marking the death of anti-vaxxers and COVID-19 deniers from the coronavirus.

Diamond, known for spreading misinformation about COVID that resulted in Fox News cutting ties with her in 2020, was hospitalized with COVID-19 a month ago. While there is no official cause of death given as of yet, some, including the website Hip Hop Wired and mods of /r/HermanCainAward, have said that implying Diamond died from COVID complications is "stating the obvious."

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.

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) January 10, 2023

The next point of controversy was Trump's announcement of the death, which struck many as characteristically unsuited to the moment for the former President. In particular, Trump appeared to joke that Diamond's cause of death was "probably her big and precious HEART just plain gave out," which some found gave the death a bizarre comedic feel.

Reading the Diamond death announcement, I'm struck by Trump joking (?) that Diamond's heart was too big for her to live: "Probably her big and precious HEART just plain gave out."

— Will Sommer (@willsommer) January 10, 2023

“probably her big and precious HEART just plain gave out” already feels like an all-timer Trump line https://t.co/lsTk4ewrhc

— Hal (@mensa_genius) January 10, 2023

the second to last sentence [*~%{^~%]£~%>~£}? https://t.co/EaocAnSSZx

— dem (@fl0rricks) January 10, 2023

Lastly, there was Silk's post about Diamond's death, which included a fundraising link to a fundraiser pegged as Diamond's memorial, though it is unclear how those funds would be used. To critical commentators, it appeared as though Silk was attempting to grift their fans following Diamond's death, giving the affair a sour taste.

Ok I was going to try and be respectful but the woman's body isn't even cold yet and Silk literally using Diamond's death to grift. That's modern Conservativism through and through. pic.twitter.com/v5NaOG354F

— 💀DeathMetalViking💀 (@DeathMetalV) January 10, 2023

Let me get this right. Diamond, of Diamond and Silk, dies of Covid after pushing followers not to take the vaccine, and Silk uses her death as a grift to raise money for no particular reason, while having a net worth of $5 million? pic.twitter.com/bOJGIG7s9l

— 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤𝔾𝕦𝕪 🌐 (@ShitzN_Giggles) January 10, 2023

Diamond of Diamond and Silk sadly passed away. But don’t worry, they’ve already set a grift up on her casket.

If you ever see someone raising money off my death, know that I was not ok with that sh*t. 💯 pic.twitter.com/Mrfioj4G9z

— Ryan Pinesworth™️ (@RyanPinesworth) January 10, 2023

Meanwhile, Diamond is being mourned by some of her political allies, such Matt Gaetz, who responded to Trump's post with "very sad news."

Very sad news https://t.co/K1RZC4s9pw

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 10, 2023