“I am in shock as my son, whom I just spoke with a few days ago, said he was happy–my last text from him was ‘I love you dad,’” Madsen, the star of the Kill Bill franchise, told the LA Times.
“I didn’t see any signs of depression. It’s so tragic and sad. I’m just trying to make sense of everything and understand what happened,” he continued.
Hudson–whose Godfather was Quentin Tarantino–was Madsen’s eldest son with wife DeAnna Madsen, followed by brothers Kalvin and Luke. Madsen has two more sons, Christian and Max, with his ex-wife, Jeannine Bisignano.
According to social media posts from his wife, Carlie, whom he married in 2019, the pair were happy and going strong. Carlie’s social media suggests the two were unable to have children naturally so were planning on IVF.
Only one week before his death on January 22, 2022, Carlie posted on Instagram, a photo of her in a hospital gown, revealing she just a tumor removed. In the caption, she writes: “I just want to give a shout-out to my amazing husband! Yesterday I had surgery to remove a tumor from one of my breasts and he was and has been so patient throughout this whole process.” Snapped at the Tripler Army Medical Center, a Department of Defense facility in Hawaii, Carlie continued, “We were at the hospital for about 7 hours yesterday and while I was in surgery he went to target and got me flowers, comfy pajamas, my favorite candy and a card! He’s also been amazing in helping with my recovery and I’m just so thankful…”
About two weeks later, she posted a sweet photo of her and Hudson, only saying, “I miss you so much.”
The events that ended in Hudson’s suicide puzzled everyone.
Rattled over his suicide, the then 64-year-old father said, “He had typical life challenges that people have with finances, but he wanted a family,” Madsen said. “He was looking towards his future, so its [sic] mind blowing. I just can’t grasp what happened.”
Madsen, the star of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, also revealed that beneath the façade of happiness, his son, who had been to Afghanistan, was struggling with mental health. The actor explained his son, who needed therapy, stopped getting help for issues he was keeping private. Because of the suspicion “that officers and rank and file were shaming,” Madsen requested an investigation by the military, reports that are still not available to the public.
One month after Hudson took his life, Madsen, famed for his collaborations with Tarantino’s violent comedies, was arrested in Malibu, at the luxury home he was recently evicted. Charged with a trespassing, Madsen was released on bail.
