Ashley Judd reveals heartbreaking final conversation with mom Naomi as she lay dying
In the new docuseries 'The Judd Family: Truth Be Told' that aired this weekend on Lifetime, Ashley, 57, opened up about the last conversation she had with Naomi as the country singer died by suicide at age 76 in April 2022.
Ashley recalled that on the morning of her mother's passing, Naomi sent her a text that said, 'Please help.'
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8 Naomi and Ashley Judd attend the 2014 Nashville Film Festival.
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'When I got there, Mom was very uncomfortable in her body, pacing around the kitchen and expressing that she didn't want to be here anymore,' the 'Missing' actress explained.
'I put my hand on her leg and she patted me and she slowly softened and came back to herself and calmed down and shared a couple of things that I would say are private, between us, about why she chose to continue to live,' Ashley shared.
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8 Naomi Judd visits Hallmark's 'Home and Family' at Universal Studios Hollywood in March 2018.
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8 Ashley Judd attends Daughters For Earth, Vital Voices and International Center For Research on Women Campaign Launch in New York in 2023.
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Naomi went upstairs, Ashley said, but when the 'Divergent' star checked on her, she discovered that Naomi 'had harmed herself.'
'And then I spent the next whatever it was — half hour — just holding my mother and talking to her, and the first thing I said to her was, 'It's OK, I've seen how much you've been suffering,'' Ashley said.
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8 Ashley Judd and Naomi Judd arrive at the premiere of 'Twisted' in Feb. 2004.
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'And we just breathed together,' Ashley added, 'and I talked to her and told her how much I loved her, and it's okay to go.'
Ashley said that once her mom passed of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, 'my 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,' Ashley recalled. 'She was so soft. She smelled so pretty.'
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8 Naomi, Ashley and Wynonna Judd at the ACM Awards in the 1990s.
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8 Ashley Judd speaks onstage at the Clinton Global Initiative September 2023 Meeting.
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She added of Naomi's final moments, 'It was like this final consummation of the love in the relationship that we had transformed. What an honor, to be born into this human life, to be chosen by her. I got to hold space, I got to bookend. And I'm just so glad I was there.'
8 Naomi Judd and Ashley Judd at 'Dancing with the Stars' in 2013.
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Naomi struggled with mental illness for years before her death.
The 'Have Mercy' singer allegedly wrote a suicide note that read, 'Do not let Wy come to my funeral. She's mentally ill,' in reference to her other daughter and singing partner, Wynonna, 60.
Despite her mom's alleged wishes, Wynonna did go to Naomi's funeral.
8 Naomi Judd with her two daughters at the annual YouthAIDS Benefit Gala in Sept. 2005.
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Last year, Ashley appeared on Anderson Cooper's CNN podcast and called Naomi's death 'traumatic and unexpected.'
Ashley added that Naomi told her while dying, 'Let it all go, be free, all is forgiven long ago. All is forgiven long ago. Leave it all here, take nothing with you just be free.'
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.
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