Anderson Cooper, Ashley Judd Talk About Suicide of Loved Ones

Anderson Cooper and Ashley Judd opening up about their experiences with grief.

On Wednesday's episode of the podcast All There Is With Anderson Cooper, the TV anchor and actress sat down to discuss how they have dealt with grief in the wake of suicide.

Judd opened up about her mother, country star Naomi Judd, who died in 2022, calling the experience "traumatic and unexpected because it was death by suicide, and I found her."

Despite the horrific circumstances, Judd said, she was "so glad" to have been present when she died.

"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 OK ... and it is OK to let go,'" she shared candidly.

Cooper also spoke about his brother, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, who died by suicide in 1988 at age 23.

"One of the things I have found so hard about losing my brother to suicide was, I get stuck in how his life ended and the violence of it," Cooper shared.

"I think we all deserve to be remembered for how we lived, and how we died is simply part of a bigger story," Judd responded.

The Heat and Double Jeopardy actress spoke directly to the podcast's listeners who are dealing with their own grief, advising them to "pay attention" to what they're thinking and feeling.

"Consider it a nudge, perhaps from your loved one," she said. 

Cooper debuted his podcast, which has featured experts and notable guests, including President Joe Biden, last year. Produced by CNN, Cooper uses the platform to speak about about grief and life after loss.

"It's interesting," Cooper said in his episode with Biden. "I talked to a palliative care doctor named B.J. Miller, and he said to me that the loneliness so many people feel in grief is itself a bond and that maybe people can come to see it as a communal experience. There’s a communal experience in that loneliness, ironically."

In previous episodes, Cooper has also been candid about about grieving his father, Wyatt Cooper, who died in 1978 during surgery, and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, who died in 2019 at 95 years old.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or struggling with suicidal thoughts, help is available 24 hours a day through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. You are not alone.