Duffy reveals she was ‘raped, drugged and held captive for days’
The Welsh singer opened up about the reasons for her withdrawal from the spotlight in an emotional post on Instagram.
By Will Stroude
Welsh musician Duffy has revealed she was drugged, raped and held captive over several days.
The ‘Mercy’ singer, 35, opened up about the heartbreaking ordeal in a post on her verified Instagram page on Tuesday (25 February), saying she had taken time out to recover but had “survived”.
Duffy, a Grammy and three-time Brit Award winner whose debut album Rockferry was one of 2008’s biggest selling records in the UK, abruptly withdrew from the public spotlight a decade ago following the release of her second album, 2010’s Endlessly.
“You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. The way I would write it, how I would feel thereafter”, the singer wrote in the emotional post.
“Well, not entirely sure why now is the right time, and what it is that feels exciting and liberating for me to talk. I cannot explain it.”
She continued: “Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why. A journalist contacted me, he found a way to reach me and I told him everything this past summer. He was kind and it felt so amazing to finally speak.
“The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days. Of course I survived. The recovery took time. There’s no light way to say it.
“But I can tell you in the last decade, the thousands and thousands of days I committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again, the sun does now shine.
“You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain? I did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes. I asked myself, how can I sing from the heart if it is broken? And slowly it unbroke.”
Duffy, who did not state when the attack took place or whether it had been reported, said she would share further details in the coming weeks and called on the press to respect her privacy in the meantime.
“In the following weeks I will be posting a spoken interview”, she wrote. “If you have any questions I would like to answer them, in the spoken interview, if I can. I have a sacred love and sincere appreciation for your kindness over the years. You have been friends. I want to thank you for that.”
The star added: “Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family.
“Please support me to make this a positive experience.”