Jennifer Hudson Speaks About Family Murders for First Time
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Jennifer Hudson has opened up for the first time about the murders of her mother, brother and nephew in 2008. On Monday night's (June 28) episode of VH1's "Behind the Music," Hudson said her family tragedy "was surreal...It was like I was outside of myself."
"I'd pray when I get up in the morning, and pray before I lay down at night," Hudson said of how she's managed to stay strong. "If I didn't, I'd wake up depressed."
Video: Jennifer Hudson on "Behind the Music"
In October 2008, Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were fatally shot in the singer's childhood home in Chicago. Her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was reported missing and later found dead in an SUV on the city's West End, also of multiple gunshot wounds. Hudson's brother-in-law, William Balfour, was charged with the murders.
"I remember being asked to do a film around the same time and I was like, I have to get adjusted to who I am now," the Oscar-winning actress told "Behind the Music." "I can't be another character if I don't know who I am.
Hudson said the birth of her son, David Daniel Otunga, Jr., last year has helped her pull through and made her feel "like the most special person on Earth. I want him to get the same love and the same upbringing my mother gave us."
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