Singer Duffy reveals she was held captive in heartbreaking statement

26 February 2020, 07:41 | Updated: 26 February 2020, 13:59

By Alice Dear

Duffy, whose real name is Aimee Anne Duffy, has revealed the shocking reason behind her retreat from the public eye.

Singer Duffy, 35, has revealed she was "drugged, raped and held captive" in a shocking statement.

The Welsh singer, best known for her hits Mercy and Warwick Avenue, returned to social media on Tuesday evening to explain the reason for her absence from the industry.

In the brave statement, she explained her she was raped, drugged and held captive "over some days", and that her "recovery took time".

Sharing a black and white picture of herself on her Instagram page, she captioned it: "You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. 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.

"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.

"In the following weeks I will be posting a spoken interview. 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 x Duffy."

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You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. 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. 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. In the following weeks I will be posting a spoken interview. 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 x Duffy 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.

A post shared by @ duffy on Feb 25, 2020 at 10:12am PST

The statement ended with: "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."

Many celebrities and fans have rushed to show their support for Duffy, calling her "brave" and "an inspiration".

In 2008, Duffy released her debut album Rockferry, which instantly made her a star and loved-artist not only in the UK but also internationally.

In 2010, she released her second album, Endlessly, but has not released any new music for nearly a decade.