Naomi Judd: Lover Her Or Liver

12/04/1997 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Bruce Haring

(12/4/97) - Naomi Judd was confronted at her Nashville book signing Monday night by members of the Nashville Hepatitis C Coalition, who demanded Judd speak out more on behalf of hepatitis victims.

Judd was diagnosed with the disease in 1991 and is currently in remission. She was promoting her new book, Naomi's Home Companion, when Coalition chairman Kevin Krueger presented her with 150 letters demanding the former singer speak out more publicly about the disease. Krueger and his wife Patty also complained that Judd has been reluctant to get involved in fundraising efforts for hepatitis charities.

For her part, Judd said she was "totally befuddled" by the complaint. "I can't do any more than I do," she said. "I'm screaming it from the mountaintops. I'm telling people at the grocery store."

Judd is a spokeswoman for the American Liver Foundation. Alan Browstein, president of that organization, was quoted in the Nashville Tennessean defending the Coalition members. "Bless these other people who are urging her to do more--they are fighting for their lives."