Singer Duffy reveals she was 'raped, drugged and held captive', says she retreated from public life to recover
Welsh singer-songwriter Duffy shared some disturbing news on social media on February 25 saying that she was “raped, drugged and held captive”. The 35-year-old artist showed her brave spirit in the opening line of the post, saying, “You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. The way I would write it, how I would feel thereafter". She continues, "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", adding, "Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why".
The Grammy-winning singer is commonly known for her hit single 'Mercy' from her 'Rockferry' album. After her 2010 LP release 'Endlessly', Duffy announced she would be taking a hiatus. 'Endlessly' didn't get much acclaim as 'Rockferry' and the singer even contemplated quitting music altogether before her hiatus, according to Smooth Radio.
In the Instagram post, she says, "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". Breaking her silence, she says, "The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days" adding, "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".
Duffy also addressed the unspoken questions that may arise from her fans. “You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain?” she said. “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.”
She explained that in the coming weeks she would be "posting a spoken interview". She said that if any fans had questions, she "would like to answer them in the interview, if I can," adding, "You have been friends. I want to thank you for that.” Duffy requested that the privacy of her family would be respected, saying that "this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself". At the end of her post, she wrote, "Please support me to make this a positive experience".