VIDEO: Naomi Judd's First Memory Was 'Being Sexually Abused'
April 7 2011, Published 10:21 a.m. ET
In the wake of Ashley Judd’s tell-all book admitting she was sexually abused as a child, her famous mother also reveals her own shocking past—that she too was the victim of molestation, RadarOnline.com has learned.
While chatting with the ladies of The View on Thursday to promote their upcoming OWN Network reality series, The Judds, Naomi held back tears alongside her oldest daughter Wynonna as she recalled her painful childhood memories.
“I never told a single soul until about two years ago we were sitting at our kitchen table with our therapist…and he asked me what was your first memory?” the Judd matriarch remembered.
“And I said ‘well, it was being sexually abused is my first memory.’
“He said, ‘why didn’t you tell your mother?’ and then I fell apart because I realized I didn’t trust my mother.”
The youngest of the Judd siblings, Ashley, released her controversial memoir this week, All That Is Bitter & Sweet, detailing a childhood filled with abandonment, sexual abuse and uncertainty.
So why didn’t Naomi wait so long to tell her family?: “The reason I didn’t tell anybody is that I grew up in a family of secrets…I realize now and I give my mother a break, but I didn’t trust my mother…”
Naomi actually told Wynonna two years ago: “She told me on the tour…and I was really was a little resentful that the cameras were on because it’s such a personal thing, but I think we’re willing to step out on faith and hope that it helps someone else to tell someone because there is a lot of shame and secrecy and it shows that everyone in our family that this is affecting us and to watch out for the next generation.”
In fact, all three famous family members were victims of abuse – and Wynnona even talked about how she’s coping: “I discussed it in my book…I haven’t faced him yet and I’m a work in progress…we’re a work in progress."
The Judds premieres on the OWN Network April 10 at 9 p.m.
“You’ll see us in a way you’ve never see us before,” Wynonna said.
“You can see the two of us coming together, it didn’t disconnect us, we survived it and we’re stronger for it.”
The singing duo also put on a united family front as they addressed the recent revelations and lent their support to Ashley.
"We are just like every other family but ours is microscopically looked at and people are trying to almost pit us again each other," said Wynonna when asked what she thinks of the shocking statements made in her sister's book.
"I wanted to come out today and say, listen, we agree to disagree in our family. But we show up because we support each other for who we are."
When asked by Barbara Walters if she thinks her daughter was neglected, Naomi said; "In a way I do. The thing I want to acknowledge is that I adore my daughter, these two girls, my husband Larry are the joy of my life and I support Ashley."
But the pair skirted around whether or not they believed Ashley’s allegations.
"We all have three different realities of the same car ride to the nightmares we were in," said Wynonna, who admits she has not read the controversial book. "And it’s her turn to tell her side of the story."
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