Six years after losing her mother, brother, and nephew in a horrific gun attack, Jennifer Hudson opens up about the nightmare that changed her life forever.
On October 24th, 2008, Jennifer’s mother and 29-year-old brother were gunned down in her hometown Chicago, while her seven-year-old nephew was reported missing from the home. The child’s body with ‘multiple gunshot wounds’ was found dead in the back of an abandoned SUV days later.
Jennifer’s former brother-in-law,William Balfour, received three life sentences in July 2012 following his conviction in all three murders.
Jennifer recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Tim Adams for The Guardian and reflected on her tragedy.
Here are a few excerpts:
“I have definitely seen the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows,” she says. “You don’t know how strong you are until you are placed in that kind of moment.” She pauses. “I don’t really know what else to say.”
I imagine the act of singing that song has been very tough. “Yes,” she says, “but Mom would always tell us if you are hurting, moan and you will feel better. That’s the title of the song. There is not a day that goes by when I don’t repeat the things she said. She was very quiet. The complete opposite of us kids. Now she has gone, I realise she had a lot to say. My brother, too, I hear him, too. When we were kids any time my brother saw me crying he would be like, ‘Jenny, knock it off.’ And that’s what I hear him say when I cry now.”
You can read the full interview here.
