RIP - Naomi Judd

[easysurfer]

Naomi Judd has passed. Shocking as she was planning to do a final tour.

Country music legend Naomi Judd -- one half of the duo The Judds -- has died, her daughter Ashley Judd announced Saturday. "Today we sisters experienced a tragedy. We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered," Ashley Judd said in a statement on Twitter. Ashley Judd's publicist verified the statement to CNN.
"We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public," the statement added. "We are in unknown territory."

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/30/entertainment/naomi-judd-death-mental-illness/index.html

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

Saw the Judds in concert in the very early 90's. I remember it well and it will always be in my memory. RIP Naomi.

 

[skyking1]

We saw them about the same era at a state fair show. RIP.

 

[Car-Guy]

Sorry to hear that... RIP

 

[easysurfer]

Just read that The Judds was scheduled to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame tomorrow.

 

[Letj]

They lost her to mental illness. Not sure what that means. Maybe she died by suicide.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

This is sad. I saw The Judds perform (at Wolf Trap in Northern VA) in the late 1980s or very early 1990s. We had maybe 4th row seats. Great concert. She was never the voice that dominated that duo, but her harmonies were spot on. And she knew how to move around the stage much better than Wynonna ever did. Classy lady. RIP.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

They lost her to mental illness. Not sure what that means. Maybe she died by suicide.

I wondered about this. It doesn’t seem like they would be setting up for a tour if she was stricken with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

 

[Calico]

I am very sad to hear this news. Naomi and Wynonna made some wonderful music together over the years.

Naomi shared in recent years that she had long suffered from depression and anxiety. I wonder if health issues and the difficulties of navigating the last couple of pandemic years became too much for her.

My condolences to her loved ones.

RIP, Naomi.

 

[skyking1]

She has been suffering from depression and anxiety for a while now. She would come back from an event and put on the pajamas and not do basic hygiene for a week or more. Perhaps the upcoming induction was just too much for her. It is sad for her and her family.

 

[CindyBlue]

I am so sorry to hear this. I've gone to a number of their concerts and have all of their albums. Rest in peace, Naomi...you have earned it...

 

[Bamaman]

There has never been a bigger character in Country Music. She was the only act that ever conned her way into a big record company unannounced, performed and talked her way into a contract.

I ran into Naomi in a Brentwood drug store one Sunday afternoon. She was incognito in a long wool overcoat, a big hat and rhinestone sunglasses. And she was just beautiful close up too.

One of my close friends has/had a standing weekly card game at the Strickland home with Larry and Mac Davis. He said Mac Davis was so incredibly funny that they couldn't keep their mind on the game. Of course, Mac left us last year.

 

[pacergal]

They lost her to mental illness. Not sure what that means. Maybe she died by suicide.

That would be my guess, severe depression for years, plus ongoing life long issues with Hep C.

Prayers to the family as they deal with this. So sad.

 

[easysurfer]

That would be my guess, severe depression for years, plus ongoing life long issues with Hep C.

Prayers to the family as they deal with this. So sad.

So very sad. Her death reminds me of Robin Williams' death.

I had thought her deep depression was in the past but apparently not.

 

[Letj]

Getting older seems to be associated with anxiety and depression. I am wondering if it’s harder for some people like celebrities.

 

[Car-Guy]

Looks like it's being called a suicide now


https://nypost.com/2022/05/02/naomi-judd-died-by-suicide-after-longtime-illness-report/

 

[skyking1]

When Ashely Judd said they lost their mom to mental illness, I viewed it as a statement of the entire global effect of severe depression and anxiety and what it can do to someone's general health. The exact cause is really unimportant, what is important is she was fighting that battle and her daughter believes it was the root cause of her demise. Those other details simply did not matter to me. I took her statement at that face value. Those kinds of illnesses can kill you as surely as anything else, and I hope it moves farther away from the stigmas associated with it.

 

[easysurfer]

Looks like it's being called a suicide now


https://nypost.com/2022/05/02/naomi-judd-died-by-suicide-after-longtime-illness-report/

I read that a local Nashville station (article, I believe) had reported her death as a suicide on Saturday but removed the mention. Perhaps out of respect for the family.

 

[Koolau]

76 sounds pretty young to me. It's really too bad because she had many more songs to sing. RIP Naomi.

 

[W2R]

76 sounds pretty young to me. It's really too bad because she had many more songs to sing. RIP Naomi.

It *IS* pretty young! I'll be 74 in a month, and I am enjoying life now more than I did at any time in the past. I am sure I'll feel the same in 2 years.

If she died by suicide due to depression, I think her doctor has some explaining to do. I have known people on modern anti-depressive medications and apparently they can cheer a person up pretty quickly and reliably. Naomi Judd seemed to have so much to live for; she was famous, and probably quite rich, and admired by many. So tragic that she (apparently?) ended up feeling suicidal.

 

[easysurfer]

Details shared about how Naomi Judd took her own life. Self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ashley is the one that found her. Gosh. Must be so traumatic. I think the daughters did the right thing by delaying the information.

Ashley Judd and her family wanted the world to hear from them how Naomi Judd died.The younger Judd appeared in an interview with Diane Sawyer, which aired on Thursday on "Good Morning America." She said her family had agreed that she share the cause of death of her mother.
"She used a weapon," Ashley Judd said. "A firearm. So that's the piece of information we are very uncomfortable sharing."
She and her sister Wynonna Judd announced on April 30 that they had lost their mother "to the disease of mental illness." She was 76.
Ashley Judd said she and her family wanted to shed light on mental illness, explaining that it is "important to make the distinction between the loved one and the disease."
Judd said the family reluctantly shared the cause of death before it became public in some other way. She also revealed that she was the one who discovered her mother, who had been outspoken about her battle with depression, after it happened.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/12/entertainment/naomi-judd-cause-of-death/index.html

 

[skyking1]

Man that is tough. It is hard to separate that last memory from all the great ones. It takes a long time.

 

[Scout]

It *IS* pretty young! I'll be 74 in a month, and I am enjoying life now more than I did at any time in the past. I am sure I'll feel the same in 2 years.



If she died by suicide due to depression, I think her doctor has some explaining to do. I have known people on modern anti-depressive medications and apparently they can cheer a person up pretty quickly and reliably. Naomi Judd seemed to have so much to live for; she was famous, and probably quite rich, and admired by many. So tragic that she (apparently?) ended up feeling suicidal.

It’s irresponsible to say her doctor has some explaining to do based on your anecdotal experience. Patients have varying responses to anti-depressants and she may have exhausted all options including ECT, etc. It is quite tragic and a good example how mental illness doesn’t respect the typically sought after predictors of happiness such as wealth/support/success.

 

[Car-Guy]

If she was that depressed or mentally ill, maybe someone should have taken away the firearm(s). (But I guess it's possible that they didn't know she had them)

I wouldn't say that all people that commit suicide (by any means) are mentally ill... Some probably are but certainly not all. (IMO) In the 10 to 12 US jurisdictions that allow for assisted suicides, I wonder if there are provisions in place to be sure the patient is mentally competent before allowing them to commit legally assisted suicide. (Probably to some degree, I would think)

Not that it matters but Tennessee (where she lived) does not allow it.

 

[Sue J]

Naomi Judd seemed to have so much to live for; she was famous, and probably quite rich, and admired by many. So tragic that she (apparently?) ended up feeling suicidal.

That's the part that's hard for the rest of us (those of us who don't have depression) to understand.

My mother had depression all of her adult life, and probably in her childhood, too. I could never understand what she felt, I could just accept it. At one point she was on a medication that got her out of it for a while. She could finally explain that the depression kept her from feeling JOY. During that period of her life she could feel what the rest of us feel, the JOY of a sunny day, a hug, a child on your lap.

Mom had a loving, supportive husband, three healthy kids, a nice house in a nice neighborhood and she didn't have to work. I would ask what she was depressed about. That wasn't the point. It wasn't about anything.

So to us on the outside Naomi Judd's life looked so good! She had talent, success, plenty of money, loved by her family and millions of fans. But if she could not feel happy and content and satisfied in all that then it leaves plenty of room for her mental illness of depression to take over.

Tragic and sad and very hard for us naturally joyous/happy/content/optimistic people to understand.