The whole country music community woke up to heartbreaking news last May 1. Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd, through the The Judds official Instagram account, announced the death of their mother Naomi just a day before. In their statement, the sisters expressed their profound grief after losing their beautiful mother ‘to the disease of mental illness.’ Additionally, Naomi’s husband, Larry Strickland, said that there would be no further details released about the death and requested privacy for the family.
Trigger Warning (TW): Mental Health (MH), Mental Illness (MI), and Mention of Suicide
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
And between the two sisters, Ashley was the more vocal one in expressing her feelings. She shared bits by bits along the way – from her speech at the induction ceremony of The Judds to the Country Music Hall of Fame, her Instagram post following the induction, and her op-ed with USA Today.
But despite the family’s request for privacy, people were still poking into the cause and manner of Naomi’s death. Several news platforms and country music sites also reported that Naomi died by ‘suicide.’ And so, in order to take control of the spread of information, Ashley, Wynonna, and Larry Strickland decided to reveal the details. And apart from taking control, the reason behind the family’s decision was also to prevent Naomi’s death from being part of the gossip economy.
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In an interview with GMA, Ashley shared that Naomi used a firearm. It was a piece of information that they were very uncomfortable sharing, but they did so for the sake of resting the rumors. And also because if they didn’t say anything, then there would be someone else is going to.
You can watch the interview below. Our hearts go out to the family and all those who loved (and continues to love) Naomi. She will be dearly missed.
