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Ashley Judd reacts to people talking about her weight gain following mom Naomi’s death

"I’m sure people are talking about it, but I don’t pay any attention to it," she said.
/ Source: TODAY

Ashley Judd says she has gained weight since her mother, country music legend Naomi Judd, died earlier this year, but she's not letting her body changes, or people's comments, bother her.

Judd, who shattered her leg while visiting Congo in 2021, says she has dealt with various health issues since then, including another leg injury.

“I actually had another fracture over the summer, which I haven’t told anybody about until now,” she told Dr. Jonathan Flint, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral science at UCLA.

“I had a condyle fracture in my femur, which was unrelated and just this freak accident. And then, since my mom and everything, I’ve put on some weight, and I’m sure people are talking about it, but I don’t pay any attention to it because I know it’s a temporary condition, and the weight will come off when it’s supposed to because it is none of my business what people think of me.”

Judd’s sister, Wynonna, is touring solo after their mother’s death, and Ashley Judd has been on hand, prompting people to notice her weight gain. She said her issues are part and parcel of the aging process, no matter the reaction.

“It’s an experience I’m having as a 54-year-old woman, and I put some pictures on Instagram at my sister’s concert, and I’m sure that there is a cohort of people who are being vilely ugly about it, and it is absolutely none of my business," she said.

"I have a healthy boundary about it, but ... you try being a once ultra-fit woman who’s 54 and put on some weight. That is going to spark some very sexist conversation, by both men and women and others in our culture.”

Judd, who advocated for her family's privacy in the wake of her mother's death, said her most recent leg injury healed quickly, but also provided her some time to mourn losing her mother.

Ashley Judd and Naomi Judd
Ashley Judd and her mom, Naomi Judd, arrive at the premiere of "Olympus Has Fallen" on March 18 2013 in Hollywood, California.Barry King / FilmMagic via Getty Images

"It healed in two months lickety-split," she said. "It was what it was, and clumsiness is associated with grief, and there were other people in our family, after Mom died, who fell down stairs and had accidents, and that’s just what mine happened to look like."

"It really allowed me to grieve," she added. "It really allowed me to stop what I was working on at that moment and to grieve.”

For her part, Wynonna Judd has said touring has let her grieve.

“I’m somewhere between hell and hallelujah,” she said on TODAY earlier this week after being asked how she’s feeling.

“These shows are healing me, one show at a time, and all my friends are coming, and it’s like the greatest party you throw yourself before the end. I feel like I’m doing a victory lap, and the fans are watching me and they’re for me because they grew up with me.”

She also said she and Ashley have connected in the wake of their mother's death.

“Well, when I became an orphan, I took a real strong look around me and said, ‘OK. Forgiveness. Forgiveness is key.’ Ashley and I are closer than we’ve been in a long time," she said earlier this week on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna. "So, get off our backs there, press. We love each other. And we show up for each other."

“We don’t agree on much, but we support one another, and we agree to disagree," she added. "And we’ve had some tough conversations lately about ‘What are we going to do?’ now that we have each other.”