Jennifer Hudson Opens Up About Family Murders


In 2008, Jennifer Hudson had to face life without her mother, brother, and nephew after they were murdered in Chicago. She has been relatively quiet about the time in the past, but Hudson has now opened up about for Glamour magazine.

The American Idol singer is on the November cover for the magazine, and Hudson has opened up about how frustrating it was to have somebody who had not been in her position help her get through the traumatic event. It was actually the birth of her son in 2009 that really helped her live through the deaths of her three family members, who were murdered by Hudson’s former brother-in-law William Balfour. He was convicted of the murder in 2012 and is currently serving his life sentence in prison.

Jennifer Hudson Tells All About Her Family's Murders
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

She makes sure her son knows that he is the reason she is still alive today. It was a dark time after Hudon’s family was murdered, as she went from having a mother, brother, and nephew to having nothing. However, there is always the fear that something will happen to him. ABC reports that she regularly tells her son that he cannot play with guns outside because it is not safe. This came after a black boy was shot by police while playing with a toy gun in a playground.

“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. I tell David all the time, ‘You saved my life.'”

The things she tells her son David are not to scare him, but to help him make smart decisions. She wants him to learn how, despite some of the greatest people in the world being black, there is still racism out there.

Hudson is currently working on a project that speaks about her experience surviving after the murders of her family members. Spike Lee is directing Chiraq, which deals with gun violence, where she plays a mother whose child dies due to gangs. This is something else that she talks to her son about, especially as more gun violence makes the news in recent years.

While the murder of Jennifer Hudson’s family was difficult to deal with, it has made her a stronger person. She admits that nobody really knows what they can deal with until they have to go through it, and now she knows how strong she is as a person.

“I’ve started by telling him some of the world’s greatest people—leaders and athletes—are black people.”

She has had a successful career since the deaths in October 2008. Since appearing on American Idol, she has gone on to win Grammys, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar and also enjoyed some time as a Weight Watchers ambassador. She has also been blessed with a supportive family through her son David and his father — her fiancé — David Otunga.

Jennifer Hudson Talks About Her Family's Murders
Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Despite her success, racism is still a problem for the singer. The 34-year-old also explained in the interview with Glamour that flight attendants will still check her plane tickets to make sure she should be in first class or not, something she does not see happen with white people onboard flights, according to The Daily Mail. Racism is something she believes most people in the United States are in denial about, but it is a serious problem.

Jennifer will next be seen on Broadway this month, as she makes her debut in The Color Purple. The stage show is an adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel of the same name, and she will play the role of Shug Avery. She is certainly looking forward to the performance, and commented about how she has come a long way from when she was in school. Regularly, she would ask for a solo and then be too afraid to sing when she got it. Jennifer Hudson’s interview will be in November’s edition of Glamour.

[Featured photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images]

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