Ashley Judd has shared new details about her late mother, country music star Naomi Judd, who died in 2022 at the age of 76.
The 58-year-old actress discussed her mother on the debut episode of her new podcast, A Table Prepared. Ashley said Naomi, a devout Christian, once “threatened to stop paying” her tuition after objecting to what she was studying.
“Mom threatened to stop paying my tuition at the University of Kentucky ’cause she didn’t like what I was learning,” Ashley told her co-host, Dan Scott, a pastor at Christ Church Nashville.
Ashley explained that Naomi was particularly uncomfortable with one of her professors and the subject matter being taught.
“She didn’t like that I had a lesbian theologian professor who was taking me through Hebrew scripture and looking at the women listed as property after the donkeys,” she said.
During the conversation, Ashley also said her mother often kept her political and social opinions private because she feared “disapproval and retaliation” within the country music industry.
At home, however, Naomi felt free to express views that might have surprised the public, Ashley said.
“She could share all kinds of political and social views that would surprise people if they knew Naomi Judd thought, felt or said those things,” Ashley revealed.
Ashley Judd has shared new details about her late mother, Naomi Judd, who died in 2022 at age 76. (Source: A Table Prepared/YouTube)
The 58-year-old actress discussed Naomi on the debut episode of A Table Prepared and recalled how her mother once threatened to stop paying her tuition; pictured in 1996
Ashley said Naomi also had deep compassion for mothers who had harmed their children.
“She would say they need help, not punishment,” recalled the Double Jeopardy actress.
Still, Ashley acknowledged that she had questioned whether her mother would have felt comfortable sharing that opinion publicly during her lifetime.
“I’ve debated with myself: Is it okay for me to say that posthumously and attribute it to her? I’m still in relationship with my mother, and so I’ve asked her these things. I was up the other morning … and the part of my mother that lives in me said, ‘Honey, I told stories. You tell the truth,’” she said.
In May, Ashley said she spent much of her childhood without a consistent role model because her mother was frequently on tour.
“There was no parent (or adult) supporting, nurturing, guiding and reinforcing my learning, delighting in or protecting that little girl,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
The actress also revealed that she recreated her 12th birthday to mark her 58th birthday in April, explaining that she did not remember having birthday parties as a child.
“Have you ever considered, from your adult perspective, restaging for your sweet inner child an experience she either never had at all?” she asked her followers.
Naomi died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in April 2022 at age 76; pictured in 2018
Ashley, Naomi and Wynonna Judd pictured in 1992
She continued, “Or an experience that did not unfold with the safety and attention it should have? I deeply enjoy doing this from a loving inner-parent perspective for my inner family.”
Ashley posted photos from the imagined 12th birthday celebration, where she sang and danced with friends.
According to the YouTube description, A Table Prepared was inspired by Ashley’s and Pastor Dan’s “friendship and shared spiritual history.”
The description says the pair revisit their Appalachian roots, their experiences with faith and the people who have shaped their lives, including Ashley’s late mother, country music legend Naomi Judd, who shared a close relationship with them both.
“Through personal memories and honest reflection, Ashley and Dan introduce listeners to the conversations they’ve been having for more than four decades — about family, faith, suffering, compassion and the questions that don’t always have easy answers.”
The medical examiner’s office in Nashville confirmed that Naomi died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in April 2022 at the age of 76.
The report said the singer had been living with “significant” anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder.
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