Share and Follow
Ashley Judd is getting candid about the last conversation she had with her mom, Naomi Judd.
In the docuseries “Judd Family: Truth Be Told,” the actress known for “Double Jeopardy” shared a haunting detail. She received a text saying “pls help” on the day the renowned singer of “Love Can Build a Bridge” took her own life in April 2022.
When Ashley arrived at Naomi’s home, she noticed her mom pacing around the kitchen and expressing that she “didn’t want to be here anymore.”
In the same series, the actress from “Kiss the Girls” revealed that the country music icon, despite her distress, managed to calm down and confide in her. They discussed how she was a reason the singer chose to keep going despite her struggles with mental health.
“And I said, ‘You don’t have to worry about me, Mom. I’m OK. I’m OK.’ And she really clocked that in a really deep way,” Ashley, 57, recalled.
Naomi later went upstairs and did not respond when Ashley called out for her.
When the “A Time to Kill” actress went into Naomi’s bedroom, she noticed her mom “had harmed herself.”
For the next half-hour, Ashley held the six-time Grammy winner and talked to her.
“The first thing I said to her was, ‘It’s Ok, it’s OK. I’ve seen how much you’ve been suffering,’” she remembered.
“And we just breathed together, and I talked to her and told her how much I loved her, and it’s OK to go.”
Ashley said that when her mom died, her “most earnest wish was to make sure that she was relieved and absolved of her guilt and her shame.”
“I was holding her hand. I was kissing her. She was so soft. She smelled so pretty,” she recalled.
Naomi died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 30, 2022. She was 76.
Prior to her passing, the musician had been vocal about her battles with mental health. As early as 2016, she spoke openly about grappling with “extreme” and “severe depression,” which confined her to her home.
The “Turn It Loose” songstress was also a mom to daughter Wynonna Judd, 60.
“The Judd Family: Truth Be Told” is now available to watch on Lifetime.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.