Naomi Judd was ‘burdened’ by a fan who joined her church for the wrong reasons
Country star Naomi Judd was once “charged” by a fan who was so loyal that they found and joined her family’s church. Read on to find out why Judd had an issue with this type of behavior and what she did to urge the fan to fix it.
Naomi Judd believed in ‘Marriage, Faith, Family and Faithfulness’
Before her death at age 76, Judd was a proud member of the Pentecostal faith, calling herself a “superbeliever.” And she thought sharing that part of herself with admirers added another layer of relationship for fans of The Judds.
“Wynona [Judd] and I believe in marriage, faith, family and loyalty. That’s what we were looking for. I think a lot of people see that quest in their own lives,” she once explained (per MovieGuide.)
But Judd also liked to keep the distance between where she worshiped and the people who worshiped her. And she was unhappy when a fan joined her church for what she felt was the wrong reason.
A fan once joined a church for The Judds and “incriminated” Naomi Judd
In 1993, Judd said, a fan joined the church who was visiting her family. “It really weighed on me,” she shared.
Judd felt that she and her daughter, Wynonna Judd, weren’t the biggest stars in the church. She said: “I just don’t sign autographs in church. The best way I can explain it to kids…is to say, ‘Honey, Jesus is the star.’”
According to Judd, she ended up writing to that person and gently encouraging them to evaluate their behavior. She explained: “I said, ‘I really want you to come out on your own and read this letter and answer that question honestly: do you come to church to see The Judds or do you come to church to see God? ‘”
The fan obviously got the message. “She never came to church again,” Judd said. “But she was in the autograph line today.”
Naomi Judd thought country music should be about weekend nights and church mornings
Though Judd is a “super believer,” she felt country songs should be “about Sunday mornings and Friday and Saturday nights,” she said (per Knoxville News Sentinel). She was aware that others thought she was living a life of sin, but she did not shrink from her truths.
“People know I’ve lived a lot and I know what I’m talking about,” she said. “People know Wynonna was conceived when I was 17 and unmarried. You have to know that – having lived across America with the two kids during the U-Haul-it years, as I did – some pretty hairy things have gone down.
But the country music mom felt her real-life experiences made her accessible to audiences. And just because someone has walked a dark path themselves doesn’t mean they can’t help someone else shed some light on their own path.
Judd explained, “…If I had to go to a detox center…I would want a counselor who was once worse off than me. Don’t give me someone who just talks like that. Give me someone who has lived it.”
RELATED: Wynonna Judd once defended Naomi Judd against an insult by a TV icon
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