Dream Girls star Jennifer Hudson has learned to forgive William Balfour, the man who murdered her mother, brother and nephew in 2008. A tearful Jennifer revealed to Oprah Winfrey that she no longer resents William, her former brother in law, who she believes was troubled. The 30-year-old opened up about the ordeal, which saw her mother Darnell Donerson, and brother Jason Hudson gunned down in the family’s home town of Chicago. Jennifer’s seven-year-old nephew Julian King was found slain in the back of an abandoned SUV days later.
“I feel like for the most part it’s not [William’s] fault,’ Jennifer said on Oprah’s Next Chapter.
“It’s how he was brought up. We tried to offer love, but he was so far gone, that he couldn’t even see that.’
“A lot of things came out, that we didn’t even know about, from his upbringing, which is like he never had a chance.”
“…he didn’t have a chance” said Jennifer Hudson of William Balfour (above)
Jennifer is clearly still deeply affected by the tragedy, and seemed to address William directly on the show. “Had you had the love my mother gave us, or the background that some have, then you would’ve stood a chance,’ she said.
In July William received three life sentences for his crimes, and since the court case ended, Grammy award-winner Jennifer, who turns 31 later this week, said she now feels a sense of closure and is finally ready to visit her family’s graves.
Jennifer, pictured here paying tribute to Whitney Houston, feels ready to move on
“I haven’t been to the grave site since we buried them but now I want to go because I feel like okay, we’ve accomplished things,” she said.
“We’ve done this. We got justice for you. I can’t come here empty-handed. I came back with justice being served so now I feel like I deserve to be able to see them.”
