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Singer Duffy reveals she was 'raped, drugged and held captive' in Instagram post

Music recording artist Duffy attends the Island/Def Jam Grammy Awards after-party at Wolfgang's Steakhouse on February 8, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.
Singer Duffy (pictured in 2009) has revealed she was sexually assaulted over a decade ago. Photo: Getty Images.

Content warning: this article mentions sexual assault.

Welsh singer Duffy has revealed that she was “raped, drugged and held captive” in a shocking statement she shared on Instagram on Tuesday.

“You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this,” the 35-year-old - whose birth name is Aimee Duffy - wrote.

“The way I would write it, how I would feel thereafter. 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. Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why.”

Singer Duffy revealed she was 'raped, drugged and held captive' in an Instagram post. Photo: Instagram/duffy.
Singer Duffy revealed she was 'raped, drugged and held captive' in an Instagram post. Photo: Instagram/duffy.

Duffy ‘raped, drugged and held captive’

In 2011, several years after her hit single “Mercy” from the album Rockferry, the singer essentially fell off the public radar.

“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,” she explained.

“The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days.”

The Grammy-award winner continued, “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.”

Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Duffy, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus attends the 2009 GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons honoring Clive Davis at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 7, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.
Duffy with (from left) Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus at the Grammy event in 2009. Photo: Getty Image.

Singer speaks out

While Duffy did not go into any more detail about her claims she did address unspoken questions from 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.”

Duffy promised to share more information in a “spoken interview,” adding, “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.” She also asked that fans respect the privacy of her family and to “support me to make this a positive experience.”

Duffy ‘disappears’

There is not a huge amount of recent information on Duffy, who, after her follow-up album Endlessly, recorded three songs for - and had a role in - the 2015 crime-drama film Legend.

In December 2019, she posted a Facebook photo with the mysterious caption “2020,” prompting fans to beg, “Please come back” and to interpret it as a sign of an upcoming album.

On Tuesday, fans returned to that Facebook post, writing, “You are a strong woman Duffy“ and “You were quite right to take as long as you needed, the most important thing is your wellbeing and health which should always come first.”

Additional reporting by Elise Solé.

For sexual assault and family and domestic violence support, you can call 1800respect on 1800 737 732.

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