Ashley Judd speaks out about her mom Naomi's heart-breaking suicide and depression struggles during poignant White House speech: 'Mental illness had convinced her it would never get better'

Ashley Judd delivered a poignant speech about suicide prevention as she opened up about the sudden passing of mother Naomi Judd who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

The 56-year-old appeared alongside other notable suicide prevention advocates - including singer Aloe Blacc and campaigner Shelby Rowe - at the event at the White House complex in Washington on Tuesday.

She opened up about her mother's struggles with mental health, saying that on the day Naomi took her own life 'the disease of mental illness was lying to her and with great terror [had] convinced her that it would never get better.'

It comes just week after Ashley recounted the heartbreaking moment she discovered her mom's body after she took her own life aged 76 on April 30, 2022.

Ashley Judd delivered a poignant speech about suicide prevention as she opened up about the sudden death of mother Naomi Judd who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound

The 56-year-old appeared alongside other notable suicide prevention advocates - including singer Aloe Blacc and campaigner Shelby Rowe

Ashley took to the stage in a flowing white summer dress but wrapped a hessian blanket over her legs as she took the microphone in hand.

She began: 'I'm here because I am my beloved mother's daughter and on the day she died, which will be the two-year anniversary in one week, the disease of mental illness was lying to her and with great terror convinced her that it would never get better...

'I have a firm belief that we deserve to be remembered not just for how we died but how we lived.'

Ashley went on to share details about her mom as she divulged: 'She also lived most of her life with an untreated and undiagnosed mental illness that lied to her and stole from her.

'It stole from our family and she deserved better.'

Naomi died from a single gunshot to the head and left a suicide note near her body at at her home in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee. 

She had battled with 'significant' anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder, according to an autopsy report. 

Ashley dished on her own experience with depression as she explained: 'I'm also here because I was molested by a man for the first time that I remember when I was seven years old.

It comes just week after Ashley recounted the heartbreaking moment she discovered her mom's body after she took her own life aged 76 on April 30, 2022 (pictured 2013)

Ashley dished on her own experience with depression as she explained: 'I'm also here because I was molested by a man for the first time that I remember when I was seven years old'

'That's when I had onset of childhood depression and I know the feeling of not wanting to be here but I had a different experience because I went to treatment in 2006 for unresolved childhood grief and sexual trauma.

'I've been in good recovery for 18 years and I've had a different outcome than my mother. I carry a message of hope and recovery.'

Elsewhere, Ashley discussed the details of her 'chosen family' who she described as being 'so tightly knit and bonded.'

She shared how they had 'walked beside her through the entire experience' of losing her mom.

The White House held the event on the day the annual National Strategy for Suicide Prevention was released to highlight efforts to tackle the mental health crisis and beat the overdose crisis. 

In January, Ashley appeared on an episode of CNN's All There Is with Anderson Cooper to discuss her mother's death. 

Ashley said: 'It was traumatic and unexpected because it was death by suicide and I found her' but added she was 'so glad' she was there for her mother after her death.

'Even when I walked in that room and I saw that she had harmed herself, the first thing out of my mouth was, "Momma, I see how much you've been suffering and it is okay... I am here, and it is okay to let go."'

She revealed she had told her mother to go and find her late loved ones, adding: 'All was forgiven long ago, leave it all here. Take nothing, be free.' 

Just two weeks before her shocking death, iconic country singer Naomi stood on stage with daughter Wynonna in a surprise reunion at the Country Music Awards.

They sang a powerful song of reconciliation written by Naomi, titled 'Love Can Build A Bridge,' in what was her last public appearance before her suicide.

Just two weeks before her shocking death, iconic country singer Naomi stood on stage with her daughter Wynonna in a surprise reunion at the Country Music Awards (pictured)

A toxicology report concluded that the singer had several different drugs in her system at the time of death.

The autopsy report stated: 'She had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and was transported to Williamson Medical Center where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

'Per family, the decedent has had prior suicidal ideations and recent life stressors.

'A weapon and a note with suicidal connotations were found near the decedent at the scene.'

According to the report, the gunshot 'perforated through the right side of the scalp and entered the skull through an entrance-type gunshot wound.'

The Judd family said in a statement: 'Our beloved mother and wife succumbed to mental illness. Everyone who has gone through this tragedy understands that in the depths of a mental health crisis, thinking is profoundly distorted. Moreover, the worst days are never representative of the comforts and pleasures of the days free from the disease.

'In the aftermath of this tragedy, our family has tried to grieve, together, with our community, and importantly, with the privacy that everyone who loses a family member deserves.

'We have always been a forthright and open family about both our hardships and the depth of our love for each other. In this particular matter, however, we ask for privacy, because a death with privacy is a death with more dignity.'