Welsh singer Duffy, whose career has been inactive in recent years, explained the hiatus by telling her fans that she had been raped, drugged, and held captive for days.
Duffy, 35, who has not been on the music world’s radar over the last few years, is known for her hit single “Mercy” from her 2008 album Rockferry, which netted her a Grammy for best pop vocal album the following year. The singer explained the reason behind her absence in a Tuesday Instagram post.
“Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why,” Duffy wrote. “The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days.”
“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,” she continued. “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.”
