Ahead of what was originally planned to be the Judds‘ reunion tour, Wynonna Judd opened up about the death of her mother, Naomi Judd, and discussed what she calls “a new chapter” in a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning.
The 58-year-old country music singer said that she still feels “incredibly angry” following her mother’s suicide, adding that the emotion — which she says probably won’t go away, “not for a while” —comes as a result of not being able to provide aid for her mother before she ended her life.
“I did not know that she was at the place she was at when she ended it,” Wynonna Judd explained to correspondent Lee Cowan. “Because she had had episodes before and she got better. And that’s what I live in, is like, ‘Was there anything I should have looked for or should I have known?’ I didn’t.”
Naomi Judd died in April from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was 76 years old. At the time, the Judd family said that Naomi had been battling PTSD and bipolar disorder.
Wynonna Judd is scheduled to go on a new tour starting Sept. 30, featuring mostly music by the Judds, on what was supposed to be a reunion tour for the duo. CBS was present for one of the tour rehearsals, in which Wynonna tears up as the first notes of the ballad “Love Is Alive” begin to play.
“As I walk out on stage that first night, I’ll probably say something like, ‘It’s not supposed to be like this,’ because it’s not, right? It’s supposed to be the two of us. And I’m gonna be angry because she’s not there,” she concluded.
Wynonna’s sister, actress Ashley Judd, has also previously spoken up about Naomi’s death, revealing that she was the one to discover their mother’s body. In a written commentary for the New York Times, Ashley explained that it was the family’s request to keep all police reports and recordings private during the course of the investigation, as family members revealed many personal things in the heat of interrogation following the discovery of her mother’s body.
In her interview with CBS, Wynonna also described her relationship with her sister as “so united right now, I think more so than we have been in a long time.”
