C4 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.TUESDAY, MAY 17 , 2022
Instagram that he made both a
“request” and “demand” to NBC
that Scott in particular be allowed
to perform.
On Sunday, Wallen and Scott
were given their moments in the
spotlight. Wallen showed up
about halfway through the show
on a platform in the middle of the
audience and sang “Don’t Think
Jesus” as well as “Wasted On You.”
Later, he received the trophy for
top country male artist. “Thank
you to my mama for being my
date tonight,” he said, as the
camera panned to his mother in
the crowd. “I wouldn’t be here
without you.”
Scott did not win any awards,
though he also performed two
songs: “Mafia” and “Lost Forever,”
with an elaborate set and backup
dancers dressed in fur, before the
backdrop faded to black and all
sorts of special effects took over
on the screen. The rapper’s family
was a focal point, as well: He
arrived with reality star Kylie
Jenner and their 4-year-old
daughter, Stormi.
At the top of the show, Combs
didn’t address either singer but
alluded to the “un-canceling”
theme by talking about second
chances.
“Tonight is special, though,
very, very special, because we all
got a second chance at life,”
Combs said. “That’s the message I
really came here to bring y’all. ... I
think that now, because the world
is open, sometimes we take things
for granted. And so tonight we’re
going to celebrate like we got a
second chance at life up in here,
and we’re going to celebrate a
chance to be able to do it better
and do it bigger and celebrate
each other.”speakerphone. She alleged that
Depp started screaming obsceni-
ties and took Heard’s phone and
threw it at her face; afterward,
she said, he grabbed her hair and
yanked her off the couch. At that
point, Heard said, her friend who
lived in the penthouse next door
ran in and intervened, and Depp’s
security arrived and ushered him
out. She said the actor knocked
items off countertops and shat-
tered a framed photo on the way
out.
Heard’s friend called the po-
lice, she said, but when they
arrived, she panicked and wantedMe,” and Brad Paisley with
“Young Love (Strong Love).”
Wynonna sang “River of Time”
at the beginning of the evening,
closed the show with Midler’s
“The Rose” alongside Brandi
Carlile, and went solo with “Love
Is a Bridge,” accompanied by the
choir from her church.
In another emotional mo-
ment, Naomi’s husband, Larry
Strickland, took the microphone
and shared how his wife loved
talking to people she just met. To
illustrate this point, he read an
email he received from a man
who had sat next to Naomi on a
flight to Nashville a few days
before she died; for reasons un-
known, Naomi had given this
man Strickland’s card with his
contact information.
The man said he didn’t know
much about country music but
was delighted to meet Naomi,
and they talked throughout the
90-minute flight. After he
found out she had died, the
man said, he wanted to reach
out to Strickland: “She spoke
highly and warmly of you and
the life you shared together.
Rest assured she loved you, and
had no qualms about telling
me, a stranger on the plane,
that was so.”several prerecorded tributes to
Naomi from celebrities, includ-
ing country music stars Martina
McBride and Reba McEntire,
along with Reese Witherspoon,
Salma Hayek, Morgan Freeman,
Bono, Bette Midler and Oprah
Winfrey.
“Whenever we hear her voice,
we will be forever reminded of
her purity of her heart and the
vulnerability she bravely shared
with the world,” said Winfrey,
adding that she talked to Naomi
many times over the years. “Her
body is gone, but her sweet
spirit and legacy remains as a
heart print on every life she
touched. And I thank you, Miss
Naomi Judd, for touching
mine.”
Multiple acts got choked up as
they performed some of the
Judds’ greatest hits. “Sorry, y’all,”
Ashley McBryde said after she
got teary at the beginning of
“Love Is Alive”; when Little Big
Town sang “Grandpa (Tell Me
‘Bout the Good Old Days),” Kim-
berly Schlapman also had to
compose herself. Other perform-
ances included Jamey Johnson
singing “John Deere Tractor,”
Emmylou Harris and Allison
Russell with “The Sweetest Gift,”
Carly Pearce taking on “Why NotWynonna) was scheduled to be
inducted. Last week, Ashley ap-
peared on “Good Morning
America” to confirm that their
mother died by suicide, which
she said she revealed to take
control of the story before the
tabloids did.
At the end of Sunday’s tele-
vised tribute (“Naomi Judd: A
River of Time Celebration”),
Wynonna took the stage solo and
spoke about the surreal nature of
the past two weeks, after being
part of the Judds duo for four
decades. “I’ve lived my life pub-
licly since I was 17. So it feels
natural to be with my family of
choice. And tonight is a celebra-
tion,” she said. “And at the same
time, I can’t put into words how
devastated I am.”
She also told the crowd that
she had decided to continue with
the 10 concerts that she and
Naomi had planned for later this
year, called the Final Tour, in
honor of her mother.
“The show must go on, as hard
as it may be,” Wynonna said. “It’s
so devastatingly beautiful what
happened here tonight, so we
will continue this spectacle.
That’s what she would want,
right?”
The hour-plus show includedBY EMILY YAHRDuring CMT’s tribute concert
for the late Naomi Judd on
Sunday evening, sisters Ashley
and Wynonna Judd stood on-
stage and told the audience how
much they missed their mother.
At one point, Wynonna inter-
rupted Ashley, and they briefly
started faux bickering, but in the
way that siblings do, rooted in a
lifetime of both exasperation and
love.
It was a moment that, for most
families, would not be broadcast
on national television. “This isn’t
easy. I don’t know why we’re
doing this in public. It sucks,”
Wynonna said, on the verge of
tears. “But we’re doing it, aren’t
we? We’re showing the world
what a dysfunctional family
does. We show up for each other.”
The audience in the Ryman Au-
ditorium in Nashville cheered as
the sisters hugged.
This is the third time that the
famous siblings have mourned
in public since Naomi Judd, the
76-year-old legendary country
singer, died April 30. A day later,
Ashley and Wynonna showed up
at the Country Music Hall of
Fame ceremony where Naomi
(along with her duo partner,
‘This isn’t easy’: Judds mourn Naomi
HARRISON MCCLARY/REUTERSThe family of Naomi Judd, husband Larry Strickland and daughters Ashley Judd and Wynonna Judd, reflected on the late singer’s life
during Sunday’s televised tribute in Nashville, “Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration.” She died April 30 at age 76.
ing her full $7 million settlement
to the Children’s Hospital Los
Angeles and the American Civil
Liberties Union. This led to a
tense back and forth with
Vasquez, who said it appeared
that Heard wanted the good
press with donating money to
charity, but had not actually giv-
en the full amount; Heard point-
ed out that she had to stop
payments since Depp sued her
for $50 million, but intends to
donate the full amount.
As detailed earlier in the trial,
Heard confirmed that the ACLU
wrote the first draft of the 2018
Post op-ed; she said she did not
want to include Depp by name or
reference, and did not come up
with the headline. (“Amber
Heard: I spoke up against sexual
violence — and faced our cul-
ture’s wrath. That has to change.”)
“I was happy to weigh in on what
I saw as the unique phenomenon
that typically women experience
in our culture when they come
forward against somebody more
powerful when they speak up
about gender-based violence,”
she said. Heard dismissed the
idea that the op-ed was published
to help promote “Aquaman,”
which was released around that
time.
“A major motion picture like
that is not aided by the publica-
tion of an op-ed in The Washing-
ton Post,” she said.to protect Depp, so she refused to
file a report; earlier in the trial,
police officers testified they did
not see signs of injury. Bredehoft
showed the jury photos of differ-
ent angles and different lighting
of what Heard said was her face
after the incident, which showed
a red mark on her cheek and a
bruise near her eye.
That week, Heard filed for a
restraining order and divorce
and accused Depp of abuse. Al-
most immediately, she said, he
initiated a smear campaign
against her. “I was begging John-
ny to not make me prove what
I’ve had to sit on the stand in
front of all of you and prove. ... I
was begging not to do this and sit
where I’m sitting today,” Heard
said. She said it makes no sense
for anyone to call this a “hoax,”
because she didn’t file charges
against him, even though that
was later used against her. “Just
don’t call me a liar, don’t say this
isn’t real,” Heard said. “Because
I’m the walking proof of it.”
During divorce proceedings,
Heard said the most important
thing to her was the mutual
statement they eventually signed
saying that no one had made
false allegations for financial
gain, given that she was being
called a “gold digger” and wanted
to clear her name. She said she
had no interest in Depp’s money
and has every intention of donat-The attorney confirmed with
Heard several times that she did
not seek medical attention after
she said Depp abused her, and did
not tell anyone after Depp’s al-
leged sexual assault of her with a
liquor bottle in March 2015. “No,”
Heard said. “I did not want to tell
anyone.”
Earlier in the day, one of
Heard’s attorneys, Elaine Brede-
hoft, showed the jury pictures
from a public event in early 2015
in which Heard had lines on her
arms; Heard said they were scars
from when Depp held her down
on a countertop and she cut her
arms on glass. Heard testified
that later that year, Depp got
sober and things were peaceful —
but alleged that several months
later, on their honeymoon, they
got in a fight when he started
drinking again and he wrapped a
shirt around her neck and held it
there until she passed out. She
said shortly after, he slapped her
in the face and punched her
across the jaw when he became
jealous over a sex scene he
thought she had performed in for
a movie.
Heard testified to what hap-
pened the night of May 21, 2016 —
very different from Depp’s ac-
count — when police were called
to the couple’s Los Angeles pent-
house. She said Depp was inebri-
ated and they got in an argument
with one of Heard’s friends onthat the jury has heard before,
where Heard told Depp: “Tell the
world, tell them ... I, Johnny
Depp, man, I am a victim too of
domestic violence.”
Vasquez, who said that Depp
was actually Heard’s victim, won-
dered whether Heard said that in
a mocking way, saying that no
one would believe a man could be
a domestic violence victim.
“I wasn’t saying it because he
was a man,” Heard replied. “I was
saying it because he beat me up
for five years.”
Vasquez went through a list of
Heard’s accusations of violence
from Depp, and asked why pho-
tos of Heard taken around those
alleged incidents did not show
signs of visible injuries: in March
2013, when Heard said Depp hit
her so hard it felt like her teeth
went through her lip; and in May
2014 when she said she thought
Depp broke her nose. Heard said
she had turned over all photos
taken after allegations of domes-
tic violence, but it was up to her
attorneys to use them, not her.
Vasquez displayed photos of the
night after Heard said she thought
her nose was broken, and pointed
out that in photos taken at a
public event, her nose did not
appear injured. “You should see
what it looked like underneath the
makeup,” Heard said.
TRIAL FROM C1
Depp’s lawyers try to point out inconsistencies during questioning of Heard
STEVE HELBER/POOL/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCKAmber Heard takes the stand
Monday for testimony and
cross-examination, with ex-
husband Johnny Depp in the
foreground. She discussed their
divorce, settlement, incidents
of alleged abuse and more
during the proceedings.PHOTOS BY MATT WINKELMEYER/GETTY IMAGES“The show must go on, as hard as it may be.”
Wynonna Judd, on deciding to continue with the 10 concerts that she and Naomi had planned for later this yearBY EMILY YAHRIt was certainly an effective
way to promote the Billboard
Music Awards: Last week, host
and executive producer Sean
“Diddy” Combs declared he was
“un-canceling the canceled” and
ensured that country singer Mor-
gan Wallen and rapper Travis
Scott would perform at the show
on NBC on Sunday night.
Naturally, given how much
“cancel culture” riles up the Inter-
net, his quotes got a lot of traction
online — even though both stars
have been laying the groundwork
for their respective redemptions.
Wallen’s music was briefly pulled
from the radio last year and he
was dropped from his talent
agency after he was caught on
video saying the n-word; he apol-
ogized and made a donation to
the National Museum of African
American Music in Nashville. His
popularity and music sales have
only increased since the contro-
versy.
Scott is the subject of lawsuits
after a crowd surge at his Astro-
world Festival in Houston killed
10 concertgoers and injured hun-
dreds in November; he recently
launched a charity initiative that
involves plans to fund an event
safety task force. He has started
promoting a new album, and al-
though he was removed from the
Coachella lineup, he is playing
concerts again.
During an interview with Bill-
board published several days be-
fore the award show, a reporter
asked Combs why it was impor-
tant to him that Wallen and Scott
perform. “The mood of the show
is about love and forgiveness. As a
musical family, none of us are
saints; none of us are without
things that happen to them in
life,” he said. “So one of the things
I’m doing directly is un-canceling
the canceled. That’s breaking
news because people haven’t
been about un-canceling. But
canceling is a trend that needs to
stop.”
“Travis went through a trag-
edy; Morgan [used the n-word]
while talking to his boy. People
make mistakes,” Combs added.
“Now we’re moving on with love
and respect for everybody that
was hurt or affected. It’s time to
forgive. To have Morgan and Trav-
is be able to come back and touch
the stage again with the mind-set
of getting a second chance at life.”
Combs made similar comments
in an interview with Revolt Black
News (he’s a co-founder of the
Revolt TV network) and stated on‘Canceled’ stars performat music awards showRapper Travis Scott, above, and
country star Morgan Wallen,
below, both performed at the
Billboard Music Awards. Both
artists have been the subjects of
recent controversies.