Wynonna Judd opened up about a traumatic childhood sexual assault — and the lasting impact it has had on her life — as part of a new lifetime documentary about The Judds and their family.
“I was molested at 12, so my whole sexuality thing was really stamped out because I just, at 12, shut down,” the singer said in one scene (quote via People).
She says that trauma manifested in the way she dressed during her career as one half of the superstar mother-daughter duo. It even informs her outfit choices today, almost five decades after the assault.
“I mean, if you look at the clothes of The Judds, my clothes are up to here and here, like, Amish,” she explains, showing with her hands that her outfits covered up to her neck.
“I’m wearing clothes to cover, not expose — to this day,” Judd adds.
- The Judd Family: Truth Be Told premiered on May 10 on Lifetime.
- The four-episode docuseries offers an intimate look into the family’s complicated family relationships, featuring interviews with Wynonna as well as Ashley Judd and Naomi Judd’s widower, Larry Strickland.
- In interviews, the family spoke at length about the late Naomi, who died by suicide in 2022. Her songwriting talents, complex relationships with her daughters, mental health struggles and death are all topics addressed on camera.
Read More: Naomi Judd’s Husband Reveals She Once Shot a Gun at Him
Elsewhere in the documentary, Wynonna’s sister Ashley also spoke about being abused as a child by a boyfriend of Naomi’s.
Speaking about a live-in boyfriend whom Wynonna described as “creepy,” Ashley recalls one time as a child when he discovered that the two sisters had written on the walls of the house. As punishment, he “hung me out the bedroom window by my ankles,” Ashley said (quote via FOX News.)
People also reports that Wynonna said it was “hard” for her when men “followed her mother home,” because she felt that their presence was a threat.
“That was always really hard for me because I saw it coming at me,” the singer admits in one scene of the documentary.
How to Watch the Judd Family Documentary
The new documentary about the Judd family is called The Judd Family: Truth Be Told, and it aired on May 10 at 8PM ET on Lifetime. Those who don’t have cable can stream the channel through services including Philo, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV.
Recent documentaries or shows inspired by real life that have aired on Lifetime include Confessions of Octomom, about Natalie Suleman, The Life and Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard.
The Judds Best Songs – Top 10 Hits From Wynonna and Naomi Judd
The Judds have 14 No. 1 songs and dominated Duo and Group of the Year awards at both the CMA and ACM Awards during the 1980s. They also recorded several dozen great songs that never made radio. Here are their Top 10 songs ever.
PICTURES: See Inside Naomi Judd’s Elegant Rural Estate
Naomi Judd’s rural estate has come up for rent, and it’s a home fit for a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Gallery Credit: Sterling Whitaker
