Source: YouTube
The YouTube stars were paid for serving as Donald Trump's campaign consultants.
In a report from Gizmodo, Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson — better known by their YouTube monikers "Diamond" and "Silk," respectively — were paid $1,274.94 for serving as Trump's campaign consultants last year. An FEC report from the 2016 campaign reveals that the duo was given the check shortly after the election on November 22.
The news comes about after Diamond and Silk were invited to the Commerce Department's headquarters this week to reportedly discuss ways in which they could expand their business (the pair runs a political blog dedicated to Trump and denouncing his critics). On Monday, the Commerce Department had initially tweeted out a picture of the two, writing that they were meeting with the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to "discuss how to grow their business and build their brand." However, the tweet was deleted hours later.
The Trump campaign has denied paying Diamond and Silk for their regular on-stage appearances at political rallies prior to this reveal but it's hard to not perceive the pair's ascent as conservative personalities coincidental. Not only is Trump aware of them (he introduced them at an event in Iowa and noted that "They've become very famous and very rich") but they've also made recurring appearances on Sean Hannity's Fox News program, as well as attended White House political aide Omarosa Manigault's wedding back in April.
Source: gizmodo.com
