Kate Hudson, renowned actress and entrepreneur, has recently been at the center of a public dispute with her father, Bill Hudson, over her continued use of his last name.
In a candid interview in 2015, Bill Hudson urged Kate to change her surname from Hudson to Russell.
The strained relationship between Kate and her father has been evident for years.
While Kate considers Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn's long-term partner, to be her true father figure, Bill Hudson went as far as describing his own absence from their lives as a “blessing.”
Prior to expressing this sentiment, Bill Hudson emotionally pleaded with Kate and her brother, Oliver Hudson, to stop using his last name.
Bill Hudson and Goldie Hawn were once married from 1976 to 1982.
However, after their divorce, Hawn quickly entered a relationship with Kurt Russell in 1983, who has since played a significant role in raising Kate and Oliver alongside Hawn.
Despite Oliver being born in the same year as their marriage, and Kate being born in 1979, Bill Hudson reportedly remained largely absent from his children's lives.
Russell stepped in as a father figure, and the couple even had a son together in 1986.
In a February 2016 interview on Jenny McCarthy's SiriusXM show, Kate expressed gratitude towards her father's abandonment, claiming she held no resentment towards him.
She stated, “We can sort of laugh at the challenges that we faced together…
I actually feel like it was a blessing.
And no matter what [Bill] goes through, I am all forgiveness.”
In September 2016, Kate, as the founder of Fabletics, showed empathy towards her father's difficult situation of not having a good relationship with his children.
With three children of her own, she acknowledged the pain he must feel and forgave him for his actions.
However, in 2015, Bill Hudson publicly criticized his children through two separate interviews.
He expressed disappointment over the Father's Day posts they shared on Instagram.
Oliver had posted a throwback photo of them with the caption “Happy abandonment day,” which he later clarified as a darkly comedic remark during a 2018 interview with Larry King.
Kate, on the other hand, shared a photo with Russell, whom she affectionately refers to as “Pa.”
Bill Hudson, in an interview with The Daily Mail, declared that his two children were “dead” to him and accused Hawn of poisoning them against him.
He stated, “I say to them now, ‘I set you free.'
I had five birth children but I now consider myself a father of three.
I no longer recognize Oliver and Kate as my own.”
He continued, “I would ask them to stop using the Hudson name.
They are no longer a part of my life… As is Kate.
I am mourning their loss even though they are still walking this earth.”
However, in a subsequent interview with Inside Edition, Bill Hudson revised his comments, clarifying that he meant it felt like a death to him rather than declaring them actually dead to him.
Bill Hudson also claimed that Hawn made it difficult for him to maintain a relationship with his children.
According to him, Hawn falsely informed the kids that he had moved to Portland.
While he admitted to spending eight months there to work on an album, he vehemently denied ever abandoning his family.
He alleged that Hawn's actions were driven by a desire for control, stating, “What Goldie wants, Goldie gets.”
Despite their tumultuous history, in a recent episode of Kate and Oliver's Sibling Revelry podcast, aired on January 8, 2021, Kate expressed her desire to reconcile with her siblings, highlighting the siblings they spend little to no time with, including their sisters.
This suggests that Kate Hudson may be open to healing old wounds and rebuilding relationships within her family.
