Ashley Judd says she met with the man who raped her years after the assault to have a conversation focused on healing.
The actress made the stunning revelation during Tuesday’s episode of the “Healing with David Kessler” podcast. She revealed that after being raped in 1999, she began searching for her attacker, whom she “very easily” located. Judd reached out and told the man she wanted to meet with him, an experience that was therapeutic for the 54-year-old. The two “ended up in rocking chairs sitting by a creek together.”
She recalled telling the unidentified man that she wanted to hear the story he’d been carrying with him in the years following the rape. Judd says together they had a “restorative-justice conversation about that.”
Judd says her purpose was to heal from grief and was pleased that he was remorseful after so many years.
“It’s important to remind listeners that I didn’t need anything from him, and it was just gravy that he made his amends and expressed his deep remorse because healing from grief is an inside job,” she added.
The “Double Jeopardy” star said even though the two spoke, she wasn’t looking for her rapist’s “cooperation” or for him to “make amends” with her. She had already done the trauma work to move past the painful experience.
In 2019, Judd revealed that she’d been raped a total of three times and at least one of which resulted in pregnancy. She says she had an abortion because the abuser would have had parental rights to the child as a resident of Kentucky. It is unclear if the rapist she met with in person was the one who impregnated her or if that assault led to a conviction.
Earlier this year, Judd also lost her mother, singer Naomi Judd, only adding to Ashley’s years of heartache. Nevertheless, Ashley Judd is focused on her healing and hopes to share her remarkable journey of strength and recovery with others.
