Jennifer Hudson has certain reservations when it comes to publicly discussing the tragic loss of her family members.
In a new interview with Glamour magazine, the Academy Award-winner explained why she often chooses not to discuss the death of her mother, brother and nephew, who were fatally shot by her sister’s estranged husband in 2008.
“It’s frustrating as hell to me to have somebody who ain’t lost nothing try to talk to me about it," she said. “I want to say, ‘Don’t even bother, because you know nothing.’ But you never know how much you can get through until you’re going through it.”
According to reports, Hudson’s estranged brother-in-law, William Balfour, was found guilty of murder and is currently serving three consecutive life sentences without parole.
In 2009, Hudson gave birth to her son, David. She told Glamour that becoming a mother a year after the murders saved her life.
“I went from being an aunt, having a mom, and being a child to not having a mom, becoming a mom, and raising my own child,” Hudson said. “I tell David [now six] all the time, ‘You saved my life.’ ”
Hudson shares experience with loss with her character in Spike Lee’s film, “Chiraq.” In the film -- which highlights black-on-black gun violence in Chicago -- the 34-year-old plays a mother who loses her daughter to a stray bullet.
"There's a scene where we're all holding up boards with [photos of] our slain children on them. I turned around, and it's a sea of real women [as extras] holding pictures of children they actually lost," she told Glamour. "I'm a character holding a picture of a little girl, but in real life I have the same story."
“Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq” is set to hit theaters and Amazon Prime in December. Read more of Jennifer Hudson’s Glamour magazine interview here.
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