Fox News has reportedly ended its association with the conservative commentators known professionally as Diamond and Silk, according to the Daily Beast.
Reports of their ouster came on Monday, weeks after the pair made a series of controversial comments during a broadcast focused on the coronavirus pandemic.
Lynette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, known as Diamond and Silk, respectively, used the episode of their streaming web series to express doubt about the veracity of official infection numbers. The duo further suggested that the statistics could have been manipulated for political reasons.
‘Something is off here’
“What I need to know is how many people have passed away in New York,” Hardaway said. “And what I need to know is who has the bodies.”
In an apparent reference to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, Hardaway asserted that she does not “trust anything else that comes out of his mouth now” and called for independent investigations.
“Something’s not right here,” she said. “Something is off here.”
Hardaway further questioned whether the virus is “being deliberately spread” before insisting that she was “not being a conspiracy theorist.”
The apparent decision to remove Diamond and Silk comes as President Donald Trump has grown increasingly critical of Fox News in recent months.
Trump calls Fox News ‘politically correct’
While Trump is known to receive favorable coverage from Fox News hosts including Laura Ingram, Tucker Carlson, and Sean Hannity, others at the network have been on the receiving end of his ire.
In a tweet posted on April 26, Trump complained that the network “just doesn’t get what’s happening” and suggested network executives “are being fed Democrat talking points, and they play them without hesitation or research.”
The president also said that he had “no respect” for those running Fox News, including “RINO Paul Ryan.” The Republican former House speaker sits on Fox News’ board of directors and has been critical of Trump since leaving office.
Trump went on to accuse Fox News of becoming “politically correct,” condemning its decision to hire former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile. In 2016, Brazile leaked debate questions to then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Following a series of unexpected hirings, firings, and other corporate decisions, the president is not alone in wondering what is going on behind the scenes of the leading cable news network.
No comments: