Content warning: This article mentions sexual assault
Duffy has launched a new Instagram account with a statement about a traumatic event from her past. “You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this,” she wrote before detailing what’s kept her out of the public eye for so long.
The Welsh singer Duffy released two albums at the turn of the 2010s. Her debut was 2008’s Rockferry, which included the UK number one single ‘Mercy’. Rockferry picked up the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal album in 2009.
Watch: Duffy – Mercy
Duffy’s second album Endlessly came out in 2010, carrying forward the vintage pop homage of her debut. She’s been largely absent from the music world ever since, however, and has now given a detailed explanation as to why.
“A journalist contacted me, he found a way to reach me and I told him everything this past summer,” she writes. “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.”
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Duffy goes on to say that the experience held her back from releasing any music. She wanted to allow her broken heart to mend before reengaging with her fanbase. “I did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes,” she says.
Duffy also indicates that a long form spoken interview will be coming out over the next few weeks. She hopes to address any fan questions in the interview.
