Ashley Judd Recalls Naomi's Sharpie Stunt Before Surgery

Ashley Judd has disclosed a striking detail about her late mother, Naomi Judd, describing how the country music star wrote "Trump" in sharpie on her inner thigh before undergoing a medical procedure in 2020. The account, shared on Ashley Judd's podcast "A Table Prepared," centers on a minor bladder surgery Naomi Judd had at Williamson County Hospital, where she had previously worked as a nurse.

According to Ashley Judd, the sharpie in question was one her mother kept for autographs. The gesture was intended to ease the tension of the moment, given that Naomi Judd knew the operating physician. As Ashley Judd recounted, Naomi Judd explained that she felt nervous and ashamed that a doctor and surgeon who had known her when she was in her 30s as a nurse would be seeing her in such a vulnerable physical and social position during the surgery.

Ashley Judd said she challenged her mother's choice, raising concerns about how the message might land with others in the operating room. She recalled asking Naomi Judd to consider what it would mean for a nurse, an orderly, or a person with immigration status or a person of color present for the operation to see a white woman with substantial status, fame, and prestige — someone who, in Ashley Judd's words, makes a big impact everywhere she goes, especially at Williamson County Hospital — with the word Trump written on her inner thigh. In the end, Ashley Judd said she let the matter go.

Naomi Judd died by suicide in April 2022 at the age of 76. The disclosure adds a personal anecdote to the public record of a performer whose career and family story have drawn wide attention.

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