Ashley Judd: Details Of Her Mother’s Death Don’t Belong On The Internet
Ashley Judd wrote an op-ed for The New York Times about her mother Naomi Judd’s suicide and the aftermath. In the essay, she asks that the interviews with herself and…
Ashley Judd wrote an op-ed for The New York Times about her mother Naomi Judd's suicide and the aftermath. In the essay, she asks that the interviews with herself and other family members conducted by law enforcement at the scene be kept private. "We ask because privacy in death is a death with more dignity." She stresses that "The horror of it will only worsen if the details surrounding her death are disclosed by the Tennessee law that generally allows police reports, including family interviews, from closed investigations to be made public.
Ashley wrote that her mother was still barely alive when the police started questioning her about the suicide. She wrote, "I felt cornered and powerless as law enforcement officers began questioning me while the last of my mother's life was fading. I wanted to be comforting her, telling her how she was about to see her daddy and younger brother as she 'went away home,' as we say in Appalachia."
She continued, "Instead, without it being indicated I had any choices about when, where, and how to participate, I began a series of interviews that felt mandatory and imposed on me that drew me away from the precious end of my mother's life. And at a time when we ourselves were trying desperately to decode what might have prompted her to take her life on that day, we each shared everything we could think of about Mom, her mental illness, and its agonizing history."
Judd says that she knows the police were doing their job and were following their training. "I assume they did as they were taught. It is now well known that law enforcement personnel should be trained in how to respond to and investigate cases involving trauma, but the men who were present left us feeling stripped of any sensitive boundary, interrogated, and, in my case, as if I was a possible suspect in my mother's suicide."
Ashley closed the op-ed, writing, "At the beginning of August, my family and I filed a petition with the courts to prevent the public disclosure of the investigative file, including interviews the police conducted with us at a time when we were at our most vulnerable and least able to grasp that what we shared so freely that day could enter the public domain. This profoundly intimate personal and medical information does not belong in the press, on the internet, or anywhere except in our memories."
Wynonna posted on Instagram a link to the article. She captioned, "My sister has written an op-ed for the @nytimes. WELL DONE, @ashley_judd. I STAND BESIDE YOU AND WITH YOU IN THIS."
Country music has had its fair share of country music duos, from the 1970s to today's country music. To honor Dan Smyers' 35th birthday today (8/16), we look at ten of the most popular country duos in country music history.
We are not counting solo artists like Tim McGraw and Faith Hill or Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, who teamed together for a series of duets, but true blue country duos.
Dan + Shay
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 15: Dan Smyers (L) and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay accept the Top Country Duo/Group award onstage during the 2022 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 15, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Brooks & Dunn
Rick Diamond/Getty ImagesCHICAGO, IL - JUNE 18: Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn perform during 2016 Windy City LakeShake Country Music Festival - Day 2 at FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on June 18, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
Sugarland
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS - MAY 15: Jennifer Nettles (L) and Kristian Bush of Sugarland perform during the 42nd Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena May 15, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Montgomery Gentry
Michael Loccisano/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 09: (L-R) Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry attends the 45th annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on November 9, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
The Bellamy Brothers
Scott Gries/Getty ImagesBellamy Brothers arrives at the 36th annual Country Music Association Awards at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, November 6, 2002. Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images
Maddie & Tae
Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesBURBANK, CA - MARCH 31: Vocalists Taylor Dye (L) and Madison Marlow of the musical duo Maddie and Tae perform at the "Reba and Friends Outnumber Hunger" concert event on Tuesday, March 31, 2015 in Burbank, California. Tune in starting April 17, 2015 to the "Reba and Friends Outnumber Hunger" concert event, which officially launches the fourth annual Outnumber Hunger campaign. This collaboration between General Mills, Big Machine Label Group and Feeding America highlights the issue of hunger in America and helps provide meals to people and families in need. Reba headlines along with performances by Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Florida Georgia Line, Eli Young Band and Maddie & Tae. Visit OutnumberHunger.com for local listings. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for General Mills)
Florida Georgia Line
Rick Diamond/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 08: Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line perform during the 2013 CMA Music Festival on June 8, 2013 at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)
The Judds
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NV - APRIL 04: Musicians Wynonna Judd (L) and Naomi Judd perform onstage during ACM Presents: Girls' Night Out: Superstar Women of Country concert held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 4, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for ACM)
Brothers Osborne
Jason Kempin/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - NOVEMBER 11: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) T.J. Osborne and John Osborne of Brothers Osborne attend the 54th annual CMA Awards at the Music City Center on November 11, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMA)
Big & Rich
Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesNASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 05: (L-R) Singers/musicians Big Kenny and Jon Rich pose at the Wonderwall portrait studio during the 2013 CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena on June 5, 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Wonderwall)
