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Diamond and Silk

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Lynnette "Diamond" Hardaway
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSocial media personality
Notable workThe Viewers View
Rochelle "Silk" Richardson
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSocial media personality
Notable workThe Viewers View

Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, better known together by their professional name Diamond and Silk, are American live-stream video bloggers and social media personalities. The pair are sisters from North Carolina who voice their opinions about "media bias, political babble, and repetitive political tactics that feel the average American is tired of being subjected to". They are the hosts of D&S Chit Chat Live. Aside from their YouTube channel "The Viewers View", they have a presence on the social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. They proclaim themselves as "President Donald J. Trump's Most Outspoken & Loyal Supporters."

History

Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson are the daughters of a husband and wife Christian evangelist team currently affiliated with Jericho Deliverance Temple church in Raeford, North Carolina. During a 2016 interview with Newsweek, they were "reluctant" to give their ages but stated they are "old enough to vote".

Formerly Democrats, the duo came to wider prominence in 2015 as supporters of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump after posting a video criticizing former Fox News host Megyn Kelly for asking what they considered irrelevant questions during the first Republican presidential debate. Their switch to the Republican Party occurred when they saw Trump announce his candidacy on television. According to Hardaway, "When he announced and we heard everything that he stood for, it was on and poppin’, and we’ve been on the Trump train ever since."

Politics and appearances

Although officially unaffiliated with the Trump campaign, they urged support for Trump via social media efforts and rallies and traveled to three states for the campaign. The duo first joined Donald Trump as the "Stump for Trump Girls" on stage at his Raleigh, North Carolina, rally on December 4, 2015. They later warmed up the crowd at the Trump rally on January 2, 2016, in Biloxi, Mississippi. They initiated a "Ditch and Switch" campaign to encourage Democrats to register as Republicans and created a website explaining to voters which states have closed primaries and when the deadlines are for changing party affiliations.

On November 2, 2016, Diamond and Silk appeared with Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on behalf of the Trump campaign.

The pair has appeared on several Fox News shows including Hannity, Fox News Sunday, Watters' World, and The Ingraham Angle, as well as ABC's Nightline.

Racial views

Following the controversial Unite the Right rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11 and 12, 2017, Hardaway and Richardson, appearing on Fox & Friends, were critical of both the far-right and far-left groups taking part in the event. Hardaway criticized Neo-Nazi groups and the Ku Klux Klan for "spewing hate and ... creating violence" declaring "all of them should be condemned and denounced. Period". In the same interview, she also said she doesn't "...  like Black Lives Matter and Antifa." The women further noted that they feel statues of Civil War Confederate soldiers should be kept in museums.

Hardaway and Richardson went on record in December 2017 as supporting Omarosa Manigault Newman following her controversial firing as White House liaison and assistant in light of what they perceived to be negative treatment by African Americans and media. On their live-stream video blog, the pair stated, "What I find appalling, to my brothers and sisters how you ... can laugh at, pick at, gloat at somebody because they either left the White House or you listened to a salacious story that Miss Piggy went around, running around telling everybody." In the same live-stream, the women negatively mentioned Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts for saying, "Bye, Felicia" to Newman during a segment on the ABC show which aired on December 14, 2017. Addressing Roberts' remarks, Hardaway said, "How is it that you want the community to come up and then when a sister is sitting at the table , 'Well, she didn’t represent us'? Are you crazy?".

Controversy and criticism

Reception by the African American community

Hardaway and Richardson have been criticized by African Americans for their support of Trump and politically conservative viewpoints as well as their own criticism of Black personalities. In January 2018, the pair responded to remarks made by rapper Jay-Z on FOX News Channel's Fox & Friends, with Richardson stating, "... somebody can also tell Jay-Z to stop crying like a little baby and a little trick because Trump is your president". Hardaway followed up those comments by claiming the rapper is "out of touch". The pair's comments were in response to a January 27, 2018 interview with Jay-Z on CNN's The Van Jones Show. Hardaway indicated during the Fox & Friends interview that she believed Jay-Z should have credited Trump for the Black unemployment rate lowering during his presidency rather than criticizing him. According to the Atlanta Black Star, response from the African-American community in regard to Diamond and Silk's comments has been generally negative.

YouTube

Diamond and Silk have asserted that YouTube has discriminated against them through "demonetization" of their channel because of their support for Trump. Conservative website Breitbart News stated in a 2017 article that Diamond and Silk's YouTube channel had been demonetized for supporting President Trump. This observation was made following news that the video host's automated system had started to screen uploads and advertisers. The result, according to The Outline was a "stripping" of revenue from YouTube channel creators, including Diamond and Silk.

Facebook

In April 2018, the pair announced on their Facebook page and through their Twitter account that they believe they have been victims of censorship by Facebook after receiving a communication from the social media website's policy team. According to Diamond and Silk, they had started questioning Facebook via phone calls, emails, and chat sessions as to their alleged "bias censorship and discrimination against D&S brand page" in September 2017. Both women claim a reduction in reactions to their posts and videos since that time period and that followers no longer receive notifications about posts and videos. In a tweet and Facebook post, Hardaway and Richardson revealed a response from Facebook that allegedly stated the Diamond and Silk Facebook page content and brand was deemed to be "unsafe to the community." According to Hardaway and Richardson, the message sent from the Facebook policy team concluded with, "This decision is final and it is not appeal-able in any way." As of April 2018, their Facebook page states the duo has nearly 1.3 million followers.

Diamond and Silk's perceived singling out by Facebook was addressed by members of Congress during a hearing held in Washington, D.C. on April 10 and April 11, 2018. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was questioned by Congress for two days about privacy, protection of data, and Facebook's activities during the most recent U.S. presidential elections. There were also questions and statements from several members of Congress to Zuckerberg regarding Diamond and Silk's Facebook page regarding the possibility of Facebook censoring the duo by removing their videos from their page. Tennessee Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn, finished her questioning and addressing of Zuckerberg by stating, "Let me tell you something right now, Diamond and Silk is not terrorism". Texas Republican Representative Joe Barton asked Zuckerberg, "Why is Facebook censoring conservative bloggers such as Diamond and Silk?" Zuckerberg responded that Facebook employees had made an error and they had contacted Hardaway and Richardson. During an appearance April 9, 2018 on the Ingraham Angle, the pair told the show's host, Laura Ingraham, that other than receiving the response from Facebook claiming they are "unsafe to the community", the social media outlet has not contacted them.

See also

References

  1. About us, Diamond and Silk official website.
  2. "Diamond and Silk® (@DiamondandSilk) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  3. ^ Marjorie McAfee, Ashley Louszko, Byron Pitts, (2016-04-05). "A Look at Proud Donald Trump-Supporting Sister Act 'Diamond and Silk'". Retrieved 2018-04-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Tessa Stuart (September 28, 2016). "Meet the Black Women Defending Trump's Record on Race". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 28, 2018. Like Trump himself, Diamond and Silk are new to the Republican party. Lifelong Democrats, they switched parties so they could cast their votes for him in the North Carolina primary.
  5. Gorman, Michelle (2016-07-14). "DONALD TRUMP'S LOUD, PROUD AND PISSED OFF FEMALE SUPPORTERS". Newsweek.com. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  6. Former Democrats Stump For Trump. Fox Business, Varney and Co. January 8, 2016
  7. Foran, Clare (2016-01-29). "Meet the YouTube Stars Trying to Convert Democrats to Team Trump". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  8. Lanktree, Graham (2017-08-10). "PRO-TRUMP YOUTUBERS DIAMOND AND SILK 'BUILD THEIR BRAND' WITH A HAND FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION". Newsweek. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  9. ^ Supporters Seek to Persuade Democrats to ‘Ditch and Switch’ for Donald Trump, New York Times, January 7, 2016.
  10. Donald Trump Supporters Diamond and Silk a Comedy Act?, Liberty Voice, December 9, 2015.
  11. ‘Stump for Trump’ duo rock capacity crowd at MS rally, The American Mirror, January 3, 2016.
  12. "Diamond and Silk, Lara Trump bring Women for Trump tour to Winston-Salem". Winston-Salem Journal. Winston-Salem, North Carolina. November 2, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  13. Morris, Melinda (2018-03-20). "Fox News darlings Diamond and Silk bringing 'Chit Chat Tour' to New Orleans". NOLA.com The Times Picayune. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  14. ^ "Diamond and Silk: We Don't Like White Nationalists or Antifa". Fox News Insider. 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  15. ^ Willis, Kiersten (2017-12-29). "Omarosa Gets Defended by Diamond and Silk … and the Trump Supporters Get Dragged - You may not like Omarosa, but you don't have a right to laugh at her". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  16. Deerwester, Jayme (2017-12-14). "'GMA' host Robin Roberts on Omarosa's White House exit: 'Bye, Felicia'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  17. Willis, Kiersten (2018-01-30). "Trump Supporters Diamond and Silk Get Dragged For Telling Jay-Z 'Stop Crying Like a Baby Because Trump Is Your President'". Atlanta Black Star. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  18. Nate Church (August 11, 2017). "YouTube's 'Diamond and Silk' Believe They Were Demonetized for Trump Support". Breitbart News. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  19. Birnbaum, Ian (2017-09-18). "YouTube is leaving its creators in the dark". The Outline. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  20. Laila, Cristina (2018-04-07). "Diamond and Silk FURIOUS After Facebook Reveals Why Their Content Has Been Censored". Gateway Pundit. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  21. Silk, Diamond and (2018-04-08). Diamond and Silk@DiamondandSilk (Social media).
  22. Ng, Alfred (2018-04-11). "Who are Diamond and Silk, and what do they have to do with Facebook?". CNET.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  23. Kutner, Max (2018-04-11). "DIAMOND AND SILK HIT BACK AT MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK 'CENSORSHIP': 'WE ARE NOT TERRORISTS'". Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  24. Mikelionis, Lukas (2018-04-09). "Diamond and Silk accuse Facebook of discrimination, censorship over 'unsafe' label". Fox News. Retrieved 2018-04-11.

External links

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