Wynonna Judd Says She Sometimes Feels Her Late Mother’s Criticism Onstage: ‘And I Talk Back’
Wynonna Judd has been performing without her late mother, Naomi Judd, on the Judds' Final Tour, but she says she's still with her — and in some ways, their famously complicated relationship hasn't changed.
The mother-daughter duo's often fiery relationship was tabloid and television fodder for decades, and during a recent press gathering outside of Nashville, Judd told a group of journalists that even now, she sometimes feels her mother's criticism when she's onstage.
"I feel my mother onstage, but a lot of time, it's not appropriate, because when you're grieving, you go from hell to hallelujah really fast," Judd explains. "There will be moments when I feel her going, 'You have on too much makeup,' or, 'You need to lose weight.'"
It's a continuation of a pattern that played out in their relationship for years, she adds.
"And then I realize, 'No.' And I talk back to her. Because she's my mom," Judd says. "That's what we did."
"I'm on time now, so she can't bi--h at me anymore about that. I'm chronically on time. I used to be late just to make her mad," Judd admits, smiling. "Some things never change. That was my way of controlling. I don't think the relationship ever ends. Even though she's gone, I still talk to her, and I say things like, 'Why aren't you here so I can argue with you?'"
The Judds announced their Final Tour prior to Naomi Judd's death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 30. During a private memorial service in Nashville on May 7, Wynonna Judd announced that she intended to honor the dates.
Martina McBride, Brandi Carlile, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Kelsea Ballerini and Trisha Yearwood appeared on various dates of the tour, with McBride opening all of the shows. The Judds' Final Tour wrapped on Oct. 29, and it was so successful that Judd has announced 15 additional dates for 2023.
Judd is also celebrating her mother's legacy by re-staging the Judds' Final Concert in honor of the 31st anniversary of the event.
The Judds: Love Is Alive - The Final Concert is set to take place at Middle Tennessee University's (MTSU) Murphy Center on Thursday (Nov. 3), and it will reinvent the final show of The Judds' 1991 Farewell Tour, which took place at the same venue on Dec. 4, 1991. Judd will also film the show for a concert special that will air on CMT in March of 2023.