At Country Music Hall of Fame, Wynonna Judd speaks on Naomi Judd's death: 'My heart is broken'
During her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday evening, Wynonna Judd spoke about her mother Naomi Judd's death just one day earlier, telling the somber audience, "It's a strange dynamic to be this broken and this blessed ... but though my heart is broken, I will continue to sing."
The mother-daughter duo The Judds secured their spot in the Hall of Fame after a nearly 30-year career filled with 14 No. 1 hits and more than a dozen Grammy, Country Music Association, and Academy of Country Music awards. On Saturday, Wynonna and her sister, actress Ashley Judd, released a statement announcing the death of Naomi Judd, 76, saying they "lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness. We are shattered. We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public. We are in unknown territory."
Before Wynonna spoke, Ashley briefly addressed the crowd, saying she was sorry her mother "couldn't hang on until today." Wynonna shared that Naomi died on Saturday at 2:20 p.m., and several family members gathered around her to pray the Bible's 23rd Psalm, which the audience then recited with her, The Tennessean reports. She also said she kissed Naomi "on the forehead and walked away."
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The Judd family insisted that the induction ceremony in Nashville go on as planned on Sunday, the Country Music Hall of Fame said. Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers, and Pete Drake were also inducted. Ricky Skaggs inducted The Judds, saying their music connected people with "a front porch, back porch, and no porch."
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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