Actress Drops Bombshell About Country Star Mom’s Politics

Judd, 58, said that Naomi “was afraid of disapproval and retaliation from the country music community if she didn’t hold a certain political line,” on the A Table Prepared podcast. Naomi Judd died by suicide in 2022 at the age of 76. Her daughter said the five-time Grammy winner publicly fell in line with the politics that “became a part of the public narrative” of country music.

Ashley Judd said her mother feared “retaliation” from the country music industry if she shared her political views.

“In the home, and especially with me, and certainly with anyone, but most especially with me because I held the space for those conversations, she could share all kinds of political and social views that would surprise people if they thought, ‘Naomi Judd thought, felt, said that,’” Judd went on.

“I don’t know that she would have been comfortable in her lifetime saying that. And I’ve debated with myself—is it OK for me to say that posthumously and attribute it to her?” Ultimately, Judd said she believes her mother would want her to “tell the truth.”

Ashley Judd said her mother would want her to “tell the truth.”

“I was up the other morning, writing back and forth with my dominant and non-dominant hand, and she said to me—or the part of my mother that lives in me said, ‘Honey, I told stories. You tell the truth.’ And so she has passed this baton to me in a way,” Judd continued. “Stories that were acceptable in her space as a country music star, as this mother of America. And the truth is my space.”

Unlike her actress daughter, who is a known Democratic supporter and political activist, Judd often stayed out of politics, with some exceptions. In 2008, she appeared at Sarah Palin’s vice presidential rally. In 2012, as her daughter Ashley supported President Barack Obama and served as a delegate from Tennessee at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Judd told The Hill, “Call me jaded. Call me suspicious, whatever. I wish there was an ideal candidate.”

She added at the time, “Of course I know who I’m going to vote for. I consider myself very well-informed, very involved. I take it very seriously. But there’s never an ideal person. You just have to go with the one that makes the priorities.”

Wynonna Judd also keeps her politics under wraps.

Naomi Judd’s oldest daughter, Wynnona, 62, also a five-time Grammy-winning country singer, said she is “an Independent” after Rosie O’Donnell publicly assumed the star was MAGA following a performance at Mar-a-Lago. (Wynnona told People in September that she and her sister Ashley were “taking a break” from one another.)

Wynonna Judd said she and her sister were “taking a break” from one another.

Asked in 2012 whether her political views mirrored Ashley’s, Naomi Judd told The Hill, “The good news is I have raised very creative, independent-thinking women who do whatever. They’re just like me; they can’t tolerate injustice.”

Naomi Judd also confirmed Ashley’s reveal that the family’s views created lively discussions at home when she said, “The bad news is I’ve raised two creative women who are defined from within. We have very interesting dinner-table conversations.”

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988.

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