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Shania Twain Shares Touching Message to Wynonna and Ashley After Naomi Judd’s Death

Shania Twain says her heart is broken as she absorbs the loss of Naomi Judd. And the country music superstar sent her condolences to Wynonna and Ashley, Naomi’s two children.

Shania Twain wrote of Naomi Judd: “My heart is broken for Wynonna, Ashley and the rest of the Judd family. Losing a parent is the hardest thing to go through. And especially during a moment of such celebration… I can empathize with what Wynonna said in her Country Music Hall of Fame speech all too well – “It’s a very strange dynamic to be this broken and this blessed.”⁠

Twain continued: “Naomi Judd and The Judds were a huge inspiration to me, both musically and personally. Naomi fought to bring herself and her two daughters out of poverty. And to see that same strength in Wynonna and Ashley is a testament to their mother. Her life was a triumph. And The Judds impact on country music will live on forever. Nobody deserves to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame more than The Judds.”

Shania Twain Posted Video of Naomi Judd Singing with Wynonna

Twain posted a video on her Instagram feed of The Judds’ final performance together. It came at the CMT Awards on April 11. It was there on a cool misty night in Nashville that the magnificent mother-daughter duo performed their classic “Love Can Build a Bridge.” A choir, wearing crisp white robes, joined The Judds about halfway through the song, giving it an uplifting tent-revival vibe. You listened and felt like you were in the best part of a joyous church service.

Naomi Judd died Saturday afternoon. Wynonna said she told her mother a final goodbye at about 2:20 p.m. Reports say Naomi committed suicide. She’d been struggling with significant depression issues for decades. On the night of the awards, Naomi told a reporter on the red carpet that the only time she felt safe and happy was on stage.

Hours later, she and her oldest child, Wynonna, sang together on stage outside the Country Music Hall of Fame for a final time. In hindsight, these three minutes were the perfect way for country fans to remember this duo for decades to come.

Shania Twain knows the ache of experiencing a sudden loss. Her mother and stepfather died in a car accident before Thanksgiving in 1987. At about the same time, The Judds dominated country radio, no doubt inspiring Twain, who was then a young woman living in Canada. By 1995, Shania Twain had hit it big, as Naomi Judd stepped aside to deal with a hepatitis C diagnosis. Meanwhile, Wynonna was a solo star, one of the biggest in Nashville.