Pop star Duffy reveals she was 'raped, drugged and held captive' in emotional Instagram post

The "Mercy" singer revealed why she's been out of the spotlight for so long. Photo / Getty Images

Singer Duffy has today offered a shocking explanation for her 10-year absence from the music industry, revealing publicly for the first time that she was drugged, raped and held captive "over some days".

The Welsh singer, who shot to worldwide fame with her breakthrough hit Mercy, in 2008, and sold over nine million copies of parent album Rockferry, disappeared just as quickly after the release of her 2010 follow-up album Endlessly.

During the decade since Duffy has released virtually no music and all but disappeared from the public eye. Her disappearance was so puzzling, multiple news outlets have published stories in recent years asking the same question: Whatever happened to Duffy?

Today, in a moving Instagram post, Duffy, 35, explained what she's been dealing with behind the scenes.

"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," she began.

"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," she revealed.

My goodness. I too always wondered where Duffy went. This is so sad. But I am glad she is doing well! https://t.co/DljH98c1jf

— roxane gay (@rgay) February 25, 2020

"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."

Duffy said that in the coming weeks she'll post a "spoken interview" further explaining her ordeal.

"Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family," she said. "Please support me to make this a positive experience."

Fans have today praised Duffy for her bravery.

This is so shocking and gut-wrenching to read, but I am very glad that the sun now shines for Duffy again 💕 https://t.co/6nAAMhEKzA

— ⭐ amy o'connor ⭐ (@amyohconnor) February 25, 2020