February 16. 2011
Portland Observer Black History Month
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Still Trying to
Make Mom Proud
Our legacy is yours.
Jennifer Hudson
on what keeps
her going
(AP) - In a tearful i ntervie w, singer
and actress Jennifer H udson said
she's still trying to m ake h er m other
proud, and that's w hat has kept her
going since her m other and tw o
other fam ily m em bers w ere m u r
dered,
H u d so n , w h o has re p e a te d ly
declined to talk publicly about the
killings, didn't directly address the
details o f the O ctober 2008 slayings
in C hicago o f her m other, brother
and 7-year-old nephew . But in an
interview on "The O prah W infrey
Show " that w as broadcast T h u rs
day, she discussed the source o f
the drive that quickly got her back
on stage and in the recording studio
ju st m onths after the tragedy.
"I try to do everything to say,
'O K , will m y m other like this? W ill
she be pleased? W ill she be proud
o f that? H ow do I know she's happy
and she's sm iling dow n at m e from
heaven?"' H udson said. "A nd that’s
w hat I try to go by and w alk by."
Shedding tears, H udson said she
could hear the voices o f her brother
and m other telling her to "knock it
off," stop crying and keep going.
In O ctober 2008, the bodies o f her
m other, D arnell H udson D onerson,
and brother, Jason H udson, w ere
found in the fam ily's C hicago hom e.
T h e b o d y o f h e r 7 -y e a r-o ld
nephew , Julian King, was found days
later in a sport utility vehicle about
10 m iles aw ay. A ll three had been
sh o t.
The estranged husband o f Jen n i
fer H udson's sister, Julia, is charged
w ith first-degree m urder in the k ill
ings.
H udson, 29, said she d o e sn 't
know if she's started to heal yet.
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Jennifer Hudson
It's such a shocking thing," she
said. "It's a lot to take in. It's like,'O K ,
is this real? D id this really happen?'
It's hard to put it in sync w ith real
ity."
H er son, born in A ugust 2009, is
a source o f strength, she said, and
"the cutest little baby in the w hole
w ide w orld."
H u d so n p e rfo rm e d h e r new
single, "W here You At," and talked
about how she lost 80 pounds by
resolving to get in shape after c h ild
birth.
T hree o f H udson's cousins — a
bus driver, a teacher and a m edical
ad m in istrato r — jo in e d h er on the
show to talk about their ow n w eight
loss and m odel clothes chosen for
them by "Project R unw ay" host Tim
Gunn.
H u d so n , a sp o k e sw o m a n fo r
W eight W atchers, credited the p ro
gram and her determ ination fo r her
w eight loss. W infrey announced
that audience m em bers at the show
each w ould get three free o n e-y ear
m em berships to W eight W atchers
so they could sign up w ith tw o
friends.
H udson said her fiancé, D avid
O tunga, has had trouble adjusting
to the attention oth er m en are p ay
ing to her since she d ro p p ed from a
size 16 to a size 6.
"It's like a brand new me," H udson
said. "Som etim es I don't even rec
ognize m yself."
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