Ashley Judd claimed late mother Naomi Judd “threatened to stop paying” her tuition fees because of a lesbian teacher.
“She didn’t like what I was learning,” Ashley told former Christ Church Nashville pastor Dan Scott in the first episode of their new podcast, “A Table Prepared,” which premiered Friday.
“She didn’t like that I had a lesbian theology professor who introduced me to the Hebrew scriptures and who examined women listed as property after donkeys,” continued the 58-year-old actress.
Ashley went on to allege that Naomi, who died by suicide in April 2022, felt pressured to politically align with the country music industry due to fears of “disapproval and retaliation.”
However, Ashley clarified that “at home,” Naomi was more open to expressing her political beliefs, “especially” with her daughter.
“She could share all kinds of political and social opinions that would surprise people if they thought Naomi Judd was thinking, feeling, saying that,” Ashley recalls.
Ashley added that Naomi – who struggled with mental health issues before taking her own life – specifically had “a lot of compassion” for women who were making headlines for harming their children.
“She would say they need help, not punishment,” Ashley explained, before admitting she didn’t know if Naomi “would have been comfortable saying that when she was alive.”
Ashley confessed, “I debated with myself, can I say this posthumously and attribute this to her? I’m still in a relationship with my mom, so I asked her these things. I was up the other morning…and the part of my mom that lives in me said, ‘Honey, I told stories. You’re telling the truth.”
She felt, at that moment, that her mother had “passed the baton”.
Elsewhere in the episode, Ashley expressed gratitude to her co-host for remaining close to Naomi before the country music singer’s passing.
“A few times, towards the end of her life, when she was in and out of the hospital for various reasons, you were one of the people I called, and you always introduced yourself faithfully,” Ashley explained. “She would be so happy to see you.”
The “High Crimes” star, notably, was the one who discovered Naomi when the Grammy Award winner died in her Tennessee home at the age of 76.
In last year’s documentary series “Judd Family: Truth Be Told,” Ashley said she held Naomi and talked to her before she died, saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I saw how much pain you were in.”
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988.
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