Duffy breaks silence on social media, reveals she was raped, drugged, and held captive for days

Last night (25 February), Welsh singer/songwriter Duffy - known for her hits "Mercy", "Warwick Avenue", and "Stepping Stone" - broke her silence on social media with a post detailing why she's been away for so long.

She writes, "Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why", before explaining that she had spoken to a journalist over the summer about being "raped and drugged and held captive over some days."

Duffy adds, "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."

After thanking her fans for supporting her, Duffy ends her post 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."

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 Feb 25, 2020 at 10:12am PST

Duffy's last album was 2008's Rockferry. She released her latest singles "Whole Lot Of Love" and "Dear Heart" in 2015.