Naomi Judd Dies At 76 After Depression Battle, Day Before Induction To Country Music Hall of Fame

The death of Naomi Judd just one day before her induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame has cast a pall over Sunday’s ceremony – but the show will go on. 

The Country Music Hall of Fame was “shocked and saddened” by Judd’s death, CEO Kyle Young said in a statement on Twitter. However, Judd’s family asked that the induction of the mother-daughter duo The Judds continue as planned, he said.

“We will do so, with heavy hearts,” Young wrote.

Judd passed away at the age of 76. Her daughters announced Saturday, hours before the country music legend – one half of The Judds, along with her daughter Wynonna – was to be celebrated at the Nashville museum’s Medallion Ceremony. 

It’s unclear how the ceremony might change or adjust in the wake of Judd’s passing. A separate tweet on the Hall of Fame’s page announced the pre-ceremony “Red Carpet Experience,” scheduled for Sunday afternoon, had been canceled in light of Judd’s death.

In their announcements shared on Twitter, Judd’s daughters Wynonna and Ashley, an actress, wrote that they “lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.”

“We are navigating profound grief and know that as we loved her, she was loved by her public,” her daughters’ statement added. “We are in unknown territory.”

During a 2016 appearance on Good Morning America, Naomi Judd shared that she had been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety. That same year, she wrote a book titled River of Time: My Descent into Depression and How I Emerged with Hope explaining her struggles.

The Judds performed together publicly for the first time in years at the CMT Music Awards early last month, singing “Love Can Build a Bridge.” Judd’s death also came soon after announcing The Judds’ 10-date “Final Tour,” which was scheduled to begin in September.