In an interview with Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, Ashley Judd disclosed several facts concerning the death of her mother, country music artist Naomi Judd. According to Judd, her mother had mental health issues. It was obvious to Judd that something was wrong with her head. “It was very excruciating.”
“We’re in a position where if we don’t say it, someone else is going to,” Judd said of her mother’s suicide, adding that the family was “extremely uncomfortable” sharing the information.
Naomi Judd and her daughter Wynonna were members of The Judds, a popular musical duo that toured the world for decades. After Naomi Judd was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1991, they dominated the country music charts for a few years in the 1980s. A few days before she was honoured into the Country Music Hall of Fame, her death was reported.
Ashley Judd admitted that her peers’ praise and acclaim couldn’t get through to her mother, who has bipolar disorder.
The day before her mother’s death, Judd found her mother, she revealed. Injured by the discovery of her, Judd expressed both grief and trauma.
The family is seeking to keep the rest of the story private, but Judd urged anyone else who was suffering from mental illness to seek help.
Please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Espaol: 1-888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or text HOME to 741741 if you or someone you know is considering suicide.