Wynonna Judd quickly caught wind that fans were concerned over her CMA Awards 2023 performance on Wednesday — and she swears she’s just fine.
The country singer took to Instagram and TikTok after the star-studded show to address what many considered to be “bizarre” behavior during her duet with Jelly Roll.
“Don’t read the comments’ they say…” the 59-year-old captioned the post.
In the video, she smiles and says: “Don’t read the comments, I read the comments!
“I’m just gonna come clean with y’all. I was so freaking nervous,” she continues. “I got out there and I looked at Jelly Roll. I wanted it to be so good for him. I could cry right now, but I’m not going to because I’m such a fan of his and he asked me to sing and I said, ‘Absolutely!’ I got out there and I was so nervous that I just held on for dear life. And that’s the bottom line.”
The musician went on to note that “all is well” and she is already traveling back to Texas to resume her Back to Wy Tour.
After the Nashville show, she also spoke backstage about the CMA set.
“I have to show up for people like people did me,” Judd told “Entertainment Tonight.” “That’s my job now is to pass it on because people have been so generous with me and now it’s my turn to be generous with people like Jelly Roll and that’s what I’m doing.”
Judd appeared unsteady as she took to the stage to join newcomer Jelly Roll to sing “Need Favor” during the ABC live broadcast.
Some viewers took to social media to comment she seemed “off” and that something appeared “wrong with her.”
“Am I the only one concerned for @Wynonna,” one fan asked.
“It was seriously bizarre,” a second wrote on X (formerly Twitter.) “I wonder what’s going on? She barely moved once she got a death grip on him.”
The “Why Not Me” singer has faced some challenges in recent years. In 2022, she was forced to cancel her “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” performance due to an “extreme bout of vertigo.”
That same year, her mom, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Naomi Judd, died by suicide at age 76.
“I have my ups and my downs and that’s life, and I’m just telling the fans,” Wynonna told “Entertainment Tonight” on Wednesday night about her experiences over the past few months. “Like the other night, I got emotional, I felt mom. And I got overcome and I just said, ‘I need some water and I need somebody to hold onto me for a second while I take a deep breath and cry.’ And I just do it because that’s the way life is.”