Ashley Judd Blames Fractured Leg On Grief Over Naomi Judd's Death

Actor Ashley Judd said Thursday that she had suffered a leg fracture in a "freak accident," months after the death of her mother Naomi Judd.

Ashley Judd appeared on a Zoom call for the "Open Mind" lecture with ​​UCLA professor Dr. Jonathan Flint. During the conversation, she revealed she suffered a femoral condyle fracture over the summer.

"Clumsiness is associated with grief, and there were other people in our family, after mom died, who fell down stairs and had accidents, and that's just what mine happened to look like. It really allowed me to grieve," she said.

Ashley Judd's injury comes less than two years after she tripped over a tree during a hiking excursion in the Democratic Republic of Congo and shattered her leg in four places. The fall resulted in a distressing rescue followed by months of recovery. Unlike her last leg injury, her fracture "healed in two months, lickety-split."

Despite the unexpected fracture, Ashley Judd credited the injury with helping her process her mother's death. "It really allowed me to stop what I was working on at that moment and to grieve," she said.

Naomi Judd died on April 30 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The country singer is survived by daughters Ashley and Wynonna and husband Larry Strickland.

Ashley Judd, who previously revealed she discovered her mother after the gunshot, reflected on how she leaned on those closest to her for support.

"The day that my beloved mother died by suicide, I had so many people to call. There were five women who were with me within moments of my sharing that tragic news with them, and they are my chosen sisters," she said.

Ashley Judd and Flint went on to discuss a variety of topics, including childhood molestation, coping mechanisms, intergenerational trauma, fame, and more.

The full conversation is available for viewing on YouTube.