As Grammy-winning duo The Judds were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday night, Wynonna Judd opened up about the death of her mother Naomi a day earlier.
After brief remarks from her younger sister Ashley, Wynonna spoke for about four minutes.
“I didn’t prepare anything tonight because I knew mom would probably talk the most,” Wynonna said, before taking a moment to continue her speech. “I feel so blessed and it’s a very strange dynamic to be so broken and blessed…but even though my heart is broken, I will continue to sing.”
Wynonna said her mother Naomi Judd died at 2.20pm on Saturday and kissed her “on the forehead and walked away”.
Wynonna shared that the last act she, her sister Ashley and other family members did together before Naomi passed away was to recite Psalm 23. The crowd in attendance all recited the Psalm in unison with Judd to finish his speech.
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Wynonna’s younger sister, Ashley, also described their mother’s appreciation for her peers. . “My mom loved you so much, and she appreciated your love for her and I’m sorry she couldn’t hold on until today,” the actor said in tears.
“Your esteem for her and your respect for her really penetrated her heart and it was your affection for her that kept her going for the past few years,” Ashley continued. “And although this is The Judds as a duo, I want to acknowledge my sister.”
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“Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to mental illness,” said a statement shared by the duo’s publicist on Saturday afternoon. “We are devastated. We navigate deep grief and know that, as we loved her, she was loved by her audience. We are in uncharted territory.”
Singer – and fellow Kentucky – Ricky Skaggs inducted Wynonna and Naomi Judd into the Hall.
Citing music from legends connecting people with a “front porch, back porch, and no porch,” his comments also referenced numerous scriptures to call on the crowds present to use prayer and love as a signal to healing.
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Contributor: The Associated Press
