UK singer Duffy has opened up about the horrific experience that preceded her years-long hiatus.
The 35-year-old artist—born Aimee Anne Duffy—shared her story in a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday, revealing she decided to step away from the spotlight after being "raped, drugged, and held captive" about a decade ago.
"You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this ..." her post began. "Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why ... 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 ... 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 said she hadn't opened up about the incident until last summer, when an unidentified journalist reached out to her. She went on to say that it felt "amazing to finally speak," and said she intends to answer fan-submitted questions in a spoken interview.
"Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family," she concluded her post. "Please support me to make this a positive experience."
Duffy, best known for the 2008 "Mercy," broke into the U.S. mainstream with her Grammy-nominated debut album Rockferry. She released her sophomore project, Endlessly, in 2010 and released several records for the Legend (2015) soundtrack.
