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‘Media psyop?’: Figure skater Tonya Harding joins social media—and conspiracy theorists immediately tie her to the D.C. plane crash

‘Fact is stranger than fiction.’

Photo of Katka Lapelosa

Katka Lapelosa

Tony Harding(l), Plane crash(r) tweet 'look at the timing on this conspiracy. US figure skating goes down in a plane crash and 5 hours before, Tonya Harding is back?! Fact is stranger than fiction. #americanairlines #blackhawk

Figure skaters, beware — the infamous Tonya Harding may be trading ice skates for hot takes with her newly launched X profile. The former skating champ has limited social media profiles, with over 20K followers on Facebook and 62.6K followers on Instagram. In less than 24 hours after launching however, Harding gained over 15.1K followers on X.

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Screenshot of Tonya Harding's first X post Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@itstonyaharding/X.com

“Hi everyone! I’ve finally figured out how to make an account on here!!” the Olympic-winning skater posted in a video announcement on Jan. 29., 2025 under the handle, @itstonyaharding. “I’m very excited to reconnect with you all (if anyone remembers me) 😄 With love, Tonya.” The video has received over 3.9M views, 14K likes, 2.1K reshares and 2.9K comments. 

In the recording, Harding is smiling wide, wearing a fleece pullover and her hair in a straight ponytail. The video is set outdoors, with a backdrop of the woods behind her. 

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“Hey everyone, I’m Tonya Harding and I’m on X! Oh my god I’m so excited, the former figure skater announced. “Happy New Year, join me there and let’s chat it up. Love you, God bless, bye!” she added, before blowing a kiss to the camera.

It didn’t take long for X users to troll Harding’s account with jokes based on the athlete’s controversial past.

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@grenwuld/X.com

“Just here for the knee-jerk reactions,” posted X user @grenwuld in the comments.

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Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@grenwuld/X.com

“Break a leg, Tonya!” X user @SundaeDivine also replied.

Who is Tonya Harding?

Tonya Harding is a former American figure skater, most well known for her incredible skating techniques (including fame as the first woman to perform a triple axel) as well as her icy past in sports history. She was allegedly involved in an attack on skating rival Nancy Kerrigan, and a complaint about a “loose skate lace” during the 1994 Winter Olympics caused her to put her professional skating career on ice from that moment on.

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Since then she has popped in and out of the limelight in various ways, and developed her own cult following, especially after the 2017 film I, Tonya. Harding remains the butt of jokes to this day, including as part of her X announcement.

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@MWetsoil/X.com

“For those who don’t know Tonya Harding, she was famous in the 90’s for her ability to land a triple axle and for asking her ex husband to go clubbing,” posted X user @MWetsoil, in a reshare of Harding’s video.

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@MWetsoil/X.com
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“Tonya Harding? There’s a blast from the past,” added X user @Vonne_girl above the video reshare. “She’s awfully bubbly and excited about joining X, she must have no idea of what a hellscape this can be.”

People are linking Tonya Harding to the D.C. plane crash

Hours after Harding officially joined the X club, news of a tragic plane crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was announced. According to Reuters, on the evening of Jan. 29., 2025, a commercial passenger jet collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. Both vehicles fell into the Potomac River, and no survivors have been found.

The flight was carrying figure skaters from the U.S. and Russia, including Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were returning from a training camp, according to reporting from The New York Times. The pair competed twice in the Olympics and won the pairs title at the 1994 World Championships in Chiba, Japan, according to AP News.

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While certainly a coincidence, it wasn’t long before the X conspiracy theorists made a few connections between the tragedy and Harding’s announcement.

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@G_Male_Baby/X.com

X user @syncronus, who admits to liking conspiracies in their X profile, posted a few relevant connections: 

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@G_Male_Baby/X.com
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“Tonya Harding is back on X… strange how the alleged attack against Nancy Kerrigan happened on January 6, 1994, 27 years (Saturn Return) before the Capitol attack in 2021. Trump return sync? Media Psyop?”

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@humpkin_galileo/X.com

“Look the the timing on this conspiracy,” posted X user @humpkin_galileo. “US figure skating goes down in a plane crash, and 5 hours before, Tonya Harding is back?! Fact is stranger than fiction. #AmericanAirlines #BlackHawk”

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@humpkin_galileo/X.com
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“So, on the same day Tonya Harding shows up on Twitter, tons of figure skaters, both American and Russian lose their lives. Coincidence? 🤔” added X user @ncgyles.

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@AlabamaAnon17

“Sure is a strange ‘coincidence’ that less then 24-hours of the plane crash full of United States figure skating team from Wichita to Washington, D.C., that Tonya Harding gets activated on X,” posted X user @AlabamaAnon17.

Screenshot of X post discussing Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@AlabamaAnon17
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On Jan. 30., 2025, Harding wrote a second X post directed at the events of the tragedy.

Screenshot of Tonya Harding's second X post Tonya Harding plane crash conspiracy
@itstonyaharding/X.com

“The events that took place last night in Washington, DC are absolutely devastating. 💔 I’m being told that several professional figure skaters were aboard the flight as well. Sending my love and prayers to all the victims and their families.”

The Daily Dot has reached out to Tonya Harding via X comment, @syncronus via X comment, and @AlabamaAnon17 via X DM.

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