Warning: This article includes comments about suicide that you may find triggering or difficult to read.
- During a sit-down interview, Ashley Judd recalled the day that her mother, Naomi Judd, died by suicide.
- Ashley shared details about her mother's cause of death, noting they chose to share the information before it became "public" without the family's control.
- Ashley also shared more about how she and her family are working through their grief.
Ashley Judd is sharing new details about mom Naomi Judd's heartbreaking death.
During a sit-down interview with Diane Sawyer, Ashley recalled the day that her mom Naomi died.
The actor revealed that she was at her mom and stepdad Larry Strickland's home in Tennessee on Saturday, 30 April, when Naomi died by suicide.
"Mom said to me, 'Will you stay with me?'" Ashley recalled. "And I said, 'Of course, I will.'"
Ashley shared that she briefly stepped outside to let a friend who came to visit in. When she returned, her mother had died.
"I went upstairs to let her know that the friend was there, and I discovered her. I have both grief and trauma from discovering her."
During the interview, Ashley shared more details about her mother's cause of death, but noted that they chose to share the information before it became "public" without the family's control.
"She used a weapon. My mother used a firearm," Ashley said. "So that's the piece of information that we are very uncomfortable sharing, but understand that we're in a position that if we don't say it, someone else is going to."
Asking for privacy after sharing the information, Ashley said: "My mother is entitled to her dignity and her privacy, and so, there are just some things that we would like to retain as a family."
"I want to be very careful when we talk about this, that for anyone who is having those ideas, those impulses to talk to someone, to share, to be open, to be vulnerable," she added.
Ashley also shared more about how she and her family are working through their grief while highlighting the sensitivities of struggling with mental health and the importance of seeking help.
Ashley and her sister, Wynonna Judd, the other half of The Judds, announced in a joint statement on Instagram that their mother had died a day before the country star was to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
They made the decision to go ahead with the induction with both daughters paying tribute to their mother at the ceremony.
If you or someone you know needs help, The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) can be reached at 0800 21 22 23 or 0800 456 789 (24 hours, 7 days a week).