United Kingdom

UK Singer Duffy Says She Left Spotlight After Being Kidnapped and Raped

The "Mercy" singer said in her first public Instagram post that she left her rising career almost 10 years ago after being drugged and held captive for days

UK singer Duffy
Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Welsh singer Duffy said in her first public Instagram post Tuesday that she left the spotlight during her ascent to stardom almost 10 years ago because she had been kidnapped and raped, NBC News reports.

Duffy, whose real name is Aimee Anne Duffy, said that she opened up about the incident to a journalist, who is not identified in the post, who found her last summer and that it felt "amazing" to talk. The 35-year-old artist said she wasn't sure why it felt like the right time, but that she wanted to share her story with the world.

View this post on Instagram

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

"The truth is, and please trust me, I am OK and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days," Duffy said. "Of course, I survived. The recovery took time."

The message is the only public post on Duffy's verified Instagram account, which has more than 36,000 followers.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com.

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