Sam Williams, son of Hank Williams Jr., is claiming that his father and sister involuntarily put him into a conservatorship. In a since-deleted YouTube video, Sam explained his plight through a series of handwritten signs.
A portion of the signs read: “I am under a conservatorship. My father, half-sister, and a lawyer placed me in it abruptly–in August 2020. 55 days after my sister’s tragic death. I want out.”
The start of the conservatorship allegedly came about after his sister, Katie Williams, passed away in a car accident in June of 2020, according to TMZ. Though Hank Jr. and his representatives have not given a statement, there is a reportedly record of him filing for an emergency conservatorship over his son. The status of the conservatorship is unknown. How Holly Williams, Hank Jr.’s other daughter, is involved remains unclear aside from Sam’s words.
“I’ve been quiet a long time now,” the musician captioned his video. “I want out of this, and I don’t mind people knowing. They took my grief process, my spirit, my money, my car, my home, and everything possible in order to ‘protect me.’ Well, I need protection from them.”
Worth noting is that Sam’s debut album came out almost exactly a year after he said the conservatorship started. “I have worked my broken heart to quits since my dear Katie left for Home,” the caption continued. “I do not deserve this. This is a scary step but I don’t see what else to do here. I am ashamed of my family and embarrassed, I am beyond done, I have my spirit back. Get. Me. Out. Please.”
Sam William’ Debut Album Glasshouse Children
Sam’s album, Glasshouse Children is one of deep emotion. His heartbreak for his sister is evident throughout. However, he chose not to write directly about the loss of Katie.
“I definitely broke and went through a really, really, really hard time,” the musician said in an interview. “I’m still climbing out of it. But it’s the ‘still climbing’ part that is the most important. That’ll just always be a big part of my story. I hope that [when I do write about it], that can be inspiring to other people, too.”
The musician further discussed the concept behind his work: “that vulnerability is power.”
“I feel like that’s something that stands out — just being able to give words and energy to stuff that often stays ignored,” Sam continued. “That doesn’t help anything. I’m just being myself and thought that was the best thing to do.”
Interestingly, the interview touches on his family background, but there is no mention of the conservatorship. Sam is, of course, the son of country musician Hank Williams Jr. and the grandson of the legendary Hank Williams. Going into music would be a high-pressure situation no matter what the circumstances were.
“I’ve always been encouraged,” he said. “I just wasn’t receptive of it when I was young. It’s easy to feel fraudulent. Even if I wrote the songs and made the whole album, there’s such a really a high bar, like, way over my head that I can try my best to step out from, but it’s still there.”
